


Throwing Off The Bowlines

by parisienneheart



Series: Throwing Off The Bowlines [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amazing Race AU (sort of), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:11:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 58,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2161896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parisienneheart/pseuds/parisienneheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot—well, more like the wrong football, aha..." Liam stopped as soon as he saw that Louis's cold expression had not changed. He bit his lower lip, then continued. "Anyway—I just—I really want to win this, and I think you do, too, so let's forget everything and start all over. Hi, I'm Liam."</i>
</p>
<p>  <i>Louis curved his lips into a crooked grin. "You're not being serious, are you?" He breathed out a scoff. "Look, if we're going to be partners in this race, you really need to loosen up, mate. And I can't have you getting into a strop about every little thing that doesn't go quite right."</i></p>
<p>  <i>Liam frowned. "Who said I would?"</i></p>
<p>  <i>"Well, you full-on cried at me over accidentally knocking you with a football," Louis stated with an arched eyebrow.</i></p>
<p>  <i>"I did not cry," Liam protested.</i></p>
<p>  <i>Louis sent him a roguish look as he crossed his arms. "Liam, was it? Liam Payne?"</i></p>
<p>  <i>Liam tentatively nodded.</i></p>
<p>  <i>"Liam, just follow my lead and we'll definitely win this race."</i></p>
<p>Or the one where Liam and Louis reluctantly get thrown together as partners in a race around the globe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Throwing Off The Bowlines

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to give out a special thank you to [dudski ](http://dudski.tumblr.com)! This would have probably been nothing more than a few notes on a word document buried in my computer if it weren't for her support and enthusiasm. Thank you for all your help and suggestions! ♥
> 
> All britpicking/editing was done by myself, so if there are mistakes those are completely mine!
> 
> Have fun reading!

"Can you believe it, Liam? We get to take a month-long tour 'round the world startin' today! Crazy!" Niall exclaimed, his blonde hair waving in the wind he created from skipping along the pavement.

"I know! I can't believe it's already here!" Liam beamed back at Niall, his cheeks almost hurting from how wide he smiled. The tails of his open red, checkered flannel shirt whipped behind him like a cape as he skipped alongside his best mate.

"And not only that, we might actually win ₤100,000 between the two of us! Mad—it's so mad, I tell ya!" Niall laughed.

"Yeah, mad," Liam breathlessly replied.

For once in his life, Liam was actually going to be able to travel somewhere far away from home. Places not even his parents had been to. Places he'd never dreamed he'd actually be able to see in his lifetime.

The letter that came to him just three months ago, letting him know that he and Niall had been selected as contestants for Around The World in 30 Days, was the first sign of what he was sure was just a fever dream. Any minute he would wake up, and none of this would be real. It's what he told himself as he got the subsequent emails. It's what he told himself when he and Niall bought train tickets to London. It's what he told himself when he woke up in the hostel just two hours ago.

Liam and Niall giddily skipped along the pavement until they arrived at the production studio a minute later. From the outside, it looked just like any other ordinary glass building in the financial district of London. All Liam and Niall knew was that they had to have all their belongings with them and be prepared to start the race from the moment they arrived.

"D'you reckon we'll get to go to like, Australia or something?" Niall asked as he pressed the button for the main lift to descend to the ground floor.

"Or maybe Brazil!" Liam replied as the lift arrived and the doors opened. He and Niall walked in, then he pressed the button for the sixth floor.

"Oh man, imagine the places we'll get to go! I don't even care about winning—just let me go to a real beach and I'll be happy!" Niall dreamily threw his head back.

Liam laughed as the silver doors started to close. "Imagine that? Being able to go somewhere you can surf!"

"Hold the lift!" someone shouted from the lobby.

Liam reached forward and held his palm against one of the sliding doors as two young men came running into the lift, crowding it with the large camping rucksacks they carried upon their backs. Both of them were breathing out hard, their faces and necks glistening with the sheen of sweat.

One of them was an olive-skinned, black-haired young man with several tattoos along his right arm and additional ones peeking from under the grey vest top he was wearing. The other young man had cinnamon-coloured hair that pointed and swept in all kinds of directions. He had somewhat fewer tattoos than his companion along his own right arm.

"How much time have we got left before ten o'clock?" the pointy-haired one gasped out to Niall.

Niall looked down at the black electronic watch on his left wrist. "Twelve minutes."

"See, Zayn? Twelve minutes! We're early! I told you we'd make it in time!" He bumped a fist against Zayn's arm.

"Yeah, Louis, after we sprinted an entire half-marathon all the way from Victoria Station with our packs on!" Zayn was currently stooped under the weight of his pack. His chattier mate was crouched down, holding two packs on his shoulders and a football tucked under his elbow.

"Consider it practice for the race," Louis said with a cheeky grin. Zayn shook his head and rolled his eyes, though a smile crept its way to the corners of his lips.

"You lads here for Around the World, too?" Niall asked them from his corner in the lift.

"Yep. I presume you are?" Louis asked in return.

"Yep! Me and my best mate, Liam." He clamped a hand on Liam's shoulder as Liam smiled at the newcomers. "I'm Niall, by the way."

"I'm Louis." He stood up and stuck out an arm to shake Niall's hand.

"And I'm Zayn," Zayn added as he followed suit.

Liam reached forward and shook hands with Zayn and Louis as well. Now that he got a better look at Zayn—well Christ, he was beautiful. He didn't think he'd ever seen a man with such strikingly perfect bone structure and such beautiful eyes and lips. Louis was an interesting sight as well; his piercing blue eyes, the sharp features, the pointy hair, and the way he stood with his chest out and his arms crossed made him look like some kind of modern, real-life Peter Pan.

"Do you two need some help? That's quite a lot to be carrying around the entire time, isn't it?" Liam politely asked as he surveyed their bulky-looking packs.

Louis straightened up and dropped one of his packs to the floor. "We're fine, thanks. It's a potentially month-long journey, so I'm going to need to bring a bit more than just a rucksack's worth of clothes." His eyes travelled over Niall and Liam, who each only had one camping rucksack. "But I see _you're_ travelling light."

"All I really need are the clothes on me back and a pair o' shoes," Niall replied with a shrug.

"At least you're not like this one—never packs enough clothes, but makes sure to take an entire library of _books_ with him," Louis jeered as he jabbed a thumb toward Zayn.

"Oh man, I should have brought a book as well! That's some good thinking," Liam remarked with a pointed gesture at Zayn.

Zayn appreciatively smiled at Liam. Then he turned and gave Louis a flat look. "You're going to get bored."

"That's what my football's for. You know, something _fun_ to do." Louis wiggled his eyebrows at Zayn.

"You can't exactly play footie in an airport or railway station. Then you're going to be asking me for a book and you know what I'm gonna say? No," Zayn told Louis with a giggle.

"Whatever, Zayn," Louis bitingly replied as he narrowed his eyes.

"Liam, we didn't pack a football or books—what are we going to do when we get bored?" Niall jokingly moaned.

"I don't think I could ever get bored when I'm with you, Niall. That's impossible," Liam thought out loud as he smiled at him.

The doors of the lift opened and all four boys walked out onto the sixth floor. They checked in their names and travelling packs with the secretaries at the desk, and were escorted to a conference room designated for the competitors to eat breakfast as they waited for the camera crew to finish setting up the sound stage. A long white table stood at one end of the room, topped with loads of pastries, fruit, sandwiches, and assorted beverages, coffee and teapots.

Niall grabbed at his stomach and groaned. “Y'know, I really didn't eat my fill back at the hostel...”

Liam's mouth curved up at the edges as he saw the desperation in Niall's bright eyes, the pupils of which had dilated twice their size as soon as he saw the spread on the table. “Go ahead, mate—I'll grab us a seat.”

“What about you? Aren't you hungry?” Niall asked.

Liam shook his head. His stomach was still doing small back flips out of excitement, and he felt like he wouldn't be able to keep anything down. “I'm fine. You go ahead—you're practically drooling onto your chin.”

Niall nervously laughed as he quickly felt at his chin, which was actually dry—Liam just liked to tease him sometimes. “All right, Liam—but if you change your mind, just shout at me!”

Liam nodded as Niall scampered off toward the food spread. He turned to survey the conference room and found a couple of empty arm chairs bordering a small, circular wooden table and sank down into one. He turned his wrist to look at the time on his brass watch—9:58.

He looked up and around him, as it was a good time as any to scope out his competition. There were two teams of girls sitting in other couches, talking amongst each other. They looked fairly athletic. Then there were the lads he met in the lift—at least, one of them, Louis—who was kicking his football around with two boisterous American lads, clad in matching polo shirts and cargo shorts.

Up at the table, several male and female competitors were still filling up their plates with food. Niall was busy talking to some lad with curly hair, looking like they were laughing over a sandwich—weird. Liam let his eyes wander back around the room to finally spot Zayn, already curled up in a seat with his nose in a book. He managed to avoid close calls with Louis's football without even taking his eyes from his text.

It was then that Liam noticed he was the only person in that room sitting completely by himself. He looked around awkwardly for a few seconds, then felt his chest lift as soon as he noticed Niall's bright head of hair approaching. He plopped down into the seat next to Liam, his plate piled with sandwiches and fruit.

“Shit, I forgot to get a drink,” Niall muttered just as he was about to take the first bite into a ham and cheese sandwich. He began to rise from his seat when Liam bolted up and outstretched his arms.

“Relax, Niall. I'll go get us drinks,” Liam offered. “You just sit here and enjoy—and try not to eat off your own hand.”

“Ha-ha,” Niall replied with a roll of his eyes, his mouth curved into a wide grin. “You should have somethin' to eat, Liam. It's free food. Don't know when's the next time that's going to happen. Or the next time we'll even be able to eat.”

Liam nodded and snorted, "I can see you're taking that into dead serious consideration."

Liam weaved in between competitors to get to the now-abandoned refreshments table. Most of the food was gone, though there were still plenty of bottles of orange juice, mineral water, and fizzy drinks left. He suddenly started to feel thirsty, so he grabbed a Coke for Niall, and spent a considerably long time locating regular water for himself amongst the glass bottles.

"Oi! Heads up!"

Before Liam could fully turn around to the shout, he felt something hard strike his forehead just above his left eye. It bounced onto the table, crashing the bottles of fizzy drinks down—which splashed all over his clothes. Luckily enough, an entire bottle of Coke spilled onto Liam's jeans, right onto his crotch.

"Oh... bollocks!" he groaned. Not only was he still thirsty, but he had spent a half hour in the morning carefully selecting what to wear so that he looked presentable on national television. Now he was going to be on national television with a soaking wet crotch and a stained white t-shirt.

He looked up to see Louis skip towards him, his hair bouncing over his eyes until he jerked it aside with a flick of his head.

Louis choked out a laugh as he saw the puddle over Liam's crotch. "Sorry about that, mate."

"Why don't you be more careful of where you're kicking around that thing?" Liam scolded more than asked.

Louis blinked. "Yeah, I know. It was just a wild block and—"

"What the hell are you even doing bringing a bloody football to the studio?" Liam fumed.

Louis clapped a hand on Liam's shoulder. "Relax, mate, it's just—"

"Don't touch me, thanks," Liam said as he jerked out of his grip and brought a hand to his forehead, where it still prickled in pain.

Louis narrowed his eyes. "Don't get into such a strop about it. It was an accident and I already apologised!"

He snatched the football from the table and began to kick away at it again.

Liam stared after him, feeling somewhat guilty for his outburst. But who plays around with a football in a conference room when there's food and glassware lying about?

"You all right, Liam?" Niall asked as he jogged up to him, then looked at the mess on Liam's clothes. "We'll get you some paper towels, go to the toilets—have you cleaned up in no time for the cameras." Niall gently patted Liam's shoulder and gave him a bright, comforting smile.

Liam managed to return a genuine smile. He was glad Niall was here with him. Niall was like a walking sun, his cheerful disposition bringing light to any situation.

While the paper towels got most of the dark colour out of his jeans and his white t-shirt, Liam still had to contend with a wet spot right over his crotch as the cameras started rolling. He remedied this by buttoning up his red checkered shirt and kept his hands folded just over the damp area.

As Louis walked past with Zayn onto the sound stage, he directed his eyes down to Liam's folded hands, then snickered to himself. Liam bent his brow at this. At least in an hour, he would never have to see this annoying bloke ever again.

"Kind of weird, isn't it? How small it is," Liam told Niall as he glanced around the small studio. "Looks bigger on the telly."

He wondered if it was just the cameras that made this place look larger on the telly. The stage was in a square room with a large, white elliptical platform in the centre. The ground was black, the walls were violet, and an assortment of lights, wires, beams, and other fixtures that Liam couldn't identify hovered just a few metres above everyone. A team of about two dozen crew crowded the perimeter of the sound stage, mostly wearing black t-shirts and headsets, and handling mics, cameras and lights.

Meanwhile, the eight teams were told to queue into a semi-circle around the raised platform. Once the cameras started rolling, they were prompted by the stage manager, Bill, to introduce themselves. Two teams introduced themselves before Louis and Zayn, who were asked to tell their name, age, and where they were from.

"Hi, I'm Louis Tomlinson, from Doncaster. Twenty-one."

"And I'm Zayn Malik, from Bradford. Twenty."

"How do you two know each other?" Bill asked.

"We met at uni and we're best mates now. Zayn is studying to be an English teacher and I'm studying to be a Drama teacher," Louis answered. Zayn nodded.

"Anything you'd like to add, Zayn?"

"No, not really... Um, just that I think Louis and I are going to be a tough team to beat. So good luck, everyone else!" Zayn winked at the camera. Then Louis turned to him with a wide grin and the two shared a mildly complex fist bump.

The next duo were a chicly dressed girl with straight, turquoise-coloured hair and a gangly boy with a curly nest of brown hair wrapped in what appeared to be an olive-green silk scarf.

"Hi, I'm Harry Styles. I'm nineteen years old and I'm from Cheshire," the boy announced in a slow drawl.

"And I'm Gemma Styles. Twenty-one. From Cheshire as well," the girl stated more succinctly.

"Ah, so you two are related?"

"Harry is my baby brother," Gemma answered as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry beamed over at her. If you looked past the stark hair contrast, their faces were very similar, particularly around the eyes and mouth.

"And what do you do, Harry?"

"I work at a bakery and I'm currently at uni in Manchester, studying to be a lawyer maybe, or business and management... I'm still deciding."

"And you, Gemma?"

"I'm just finishing up uni as well, in Sheffield."

After two more teams introduced themselves, it was Liam and Niall's turn.

"Hello, I'm Niall Horan. I'm from a small town in Ireland, Mullingar. Nineteen."

"My name is Liam Payne, from Wolverhampton. Nineteen."

"How do you two know each other?"

Liam began, "Well, Niall and I met through Boy Scouts camp when we were just small lads and—"

"Boy scouts," he heard Louis snicker off to the side.

"And we've been best mates ever since," Liam concluded with a small grin, hoping his annoyance at Louis's remark wasn't showing through his eyes.

"Although you're from Ireland?"

"Well, Wolverhampton's not too far from Mullingar," Niall answered with a grin. "And now I'm going to school in Leeds, studying music theory and production, so Liam and I visit each other all the time."

"And what do you do, Liam?"

"I'm training as a firefighter."

"Watch out!" Louis snickered to Zayn's ear, although it was loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Liam felt his neck grow warm. Was this bloke just going to try and make this entire experience awkward?

After the last team was introduced, the host, radio personality Scott Mills, took to the centre platform to begin taping his opening speech.

"Welcome to the eighth season of Around the World in 30 Days! As you are well aware, or perhaps this is your first time watching at home—Around the World is an international race with ten stops across the globe. Each pair of contestants is given a unique route to take across the seven seas, though equal in distance. At each destination, teams are given a budget and challenges they must complete before they are able to move on to their next stop. These challenges require intelligence, physical strength, cultural awareness, and courage. The level of each team's performance on these challenges will either speed up their journey or cost them additional travelling time. Everyone is given thirty days to return to the original starting point—in this case, London—and the first pair to return wins the prize of ₤100,000. Alternatively, if a team does not return within thirty days, they are disqualified from the competition—so there is the possibility that neither of you may win—of course, that hasn't happened in the history of this series, but there is a first time for everything!"

Scott turned around to smile at all the competitors before returning to the camera. "Speaking of firsts—we have a new twist this season! For the first time in the history of this series, each team is going to comprise of two strangers. In other words, take a good look at the person standing next to you—because you will NOT be traversing the globe with them. Instead, we will be randomly assigning each person a new partner, whom you will spend the entire duration of the competition travelling with."

Everyone broke out into confused exclamations and tense looks.

"So queue up again, and we're going to call out the real teams," stage manager Bill announced.

"What? They're splitting us up?" Liam asked Niall with a crease in his brow.

"Looks that way," Niall replied, watching on calmly as everyone else seemed to lose their shit.

"This isn't fair! What's the point of signing up in teams if we don't even get to be together!" Louis fumed.

"Chill, bro..." Zayn softly told him.

"No—this is bullshit!" Louis hissed.

He wasn't the only one complaining. Several of the competitors had already swarmed up to the centre platform to confront both Scott and Bill.

"Settle down! Please settle down!" Bill urged everyone. "If you want to keep your place in this competition, you must comply with the rules. So if anyone wants to complain and forfeit their spot on this programme, there's the door!"

Everyone eventually simmered down until there were only low murmurs and vicious stares directed at Scott, who nervously laughed before the taping resumed.

"I will announce the new teams, and each member will come up to centre stage to meet. Then follow your marks to the side of the platform. Everybody got that? Great!" Scott held a series of cards in his hands that he looked at before staring back into the camera.

"Announcing our first team of Season 8: Zayn Malik and Harry Styles!"

Harry, the curly-haired, bright-eyed young man, lumbered up to the centre stage as Zayn looked back in afflicted guilt at his best mate. Louis had to nudge him away, saying "It's fine."

Zayn walked up to the platform to meet his new teammate, whose lips were curved into a wide grin.

"Hi, I'm Harry," he said, extending his hand as he stepped up to the centre. In the same second, he stubbed the toe of his boot against the edge of the platform and stumbled over his own knees.

Zayn swooped down and caught the lad before he did any damage to himself. He helped Harry steady himself up to a stand and then smiled, trying not to laugh.

"I'm Zayn," he said as he took Harry's hand and shook it.

"Thank you, Zayn," Harry replied with a grin. He breathed out in awe as he looked over at Zayn's exposed right arm."Wicked tattoos..."

"Thanks," Zayn grinned.

Liam noticed Louis staring intently at Zayn and Harry with a tightened jaw. His eyes were practically sending out heat vision as he dug his fingers into his crossed arms.

"Second team: Danny Finch and Tom Stephens!"

"Third team: Niall Horan and Stacey Edwards!"

Niall raised his eyebrows. "This should be interesting, eh? She's a volleyball player." He winked at Liam just before walking up to the centre.

Liam smiled to show his support, though he was already missing Niall at his side.

"Fourth team: Gemma Styles and Diana Lee!"

"Fifth team: Adriana Cortez and Kristina Davenport!"

Liam started to sweat. There were only six people left now to be paired up. And that bloke Louis was one of them. God, how he hoped that they wouldn't have to be—

"...Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne!"

ARE YOU BLOODY JOKING ME?! Liam wanted to shout. He questioned if he had heard correctly, and glanced over to Louis in wide-eyed, jaw-slacked horror. Louis was already looking at him with tight-lipped, narrow-eyed scrutiny.

"Come on up, lads!" Scott called out.

Liam took a deep breath, then walked up to the centre to meet Louis, who glanced at him shortly before turning back around.

"What up, Zayn? I got the firefighter! We're a shoe-in to win!" Louis hooted as he clapped a hand onto Liam's back—although it was rough enough to be a real slap. Liam couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or good-naturedly joking, but he decided to smile, if at least for the cameras.

As the next team got announced, Louis leant back on his heels and repeatedly bounced up and down as he kept his arms behind his back. Liam couldn't tell if this was his effect on him, or if he was just naturally this energetic.

Louis flicked his eyes to the side and caught Liam staring at him, then creased his brow. Liam quickly looked away, though he still felt Louis's stinging gaze on him.

Once all the new teams were put together, Bill yelled "cut" and walked into the centre of the semi-circle everyone had now gathered into.

"You will all shortly be set up with cameras, mics, all of that stuff. We're just going to go over the rules now, so pay attention."

But it was hard for Liam to pay attention when he couldn't help thinking that the person next to him most definitely did not like him, and he wasn't sure he liked him, either, and now they were going to be stuck with each other for the next thirty days. Forget about winning the competition—would they even be able to survive each other?

He probably wouldn't have even signed up for this competition if he knew he'd have to be travelling with a total stranger. That's why he asked Niall. Not only was he his best mate, but Niall would be great to have as a travelling companion. He just enjoys everything and he's open to new experiences and he's practical and has a good sense of direction, and Liam actually _likes_ him.

Bill went over the rules concerning the challenges, budget, travel insurance policies, and everything else that Liam had gone over at least ten times the night before. He had wanted to be as prepared as possible for this, so he took a scholastic approach, studying, reading the fine print, watching Youtube videos to see which strategies were the most effective, etc. But it was all in vain, now that he had lost all excitement, now that he won't even get to travel the world with his best mate anymore.

The competitors were allowed to disperse to have one last time to say goodbye to their original partners. Liam immediately moved away from Louis to go find Niall, and Louis wordlessly darted off in Zayn's direction.

"...that's real fascinatin'!" Liam heard Niall say. He was still engaged with his new partner, Stacey. She was a tall American brunette with the whitest teeth Liam had ever seen, her hair done up into a long, tight ponytail.

"Oh, we barely got through the Big Ten conference!" she exclaimed with a modest laugh. Probably discussing her volleyball career.

Liam wanted to have his time to say goodbye to Niall, but he didn't want to interrupt either, so he stood off just a few steps away, in the midst of everyone else hugging and talking as quickly as if they were only allowed a certain amount of oxygen as well as time to say their goodbyes. He tried not to listen in on anyone's conversation, yet he couldn't help but pinpoint the one projected voice that seemed to cut through everyone else's buzz.

"I hate that we can't do this together! At least _your_ partner seems like an interesting one," Liam overheard Louis say from just a few steps behind him. He broke into a nervous sweat and dared not even turn his head one degree, in case Louis caught him eavesdropping.

Zayn laughed. "Bro, my partner's got a scarf on his head and he looks like he's been wearin' those jeans for two years. And his name is Styles—how ironic is that?"

"He seems like a nice lad, though. I mean, look at that face. Like a proper cherub."

At that moment, Liam looked around for the curly-haired lad in reference, and saw him jokingly clinging his lanky limbs all over his older sister, who was standing with her arms at her sides. Her face was rife with boredom, as if it were a normal occurrence for her little brother to latch himself onto her legs before they parted ways. He seemed a pleasant lad, though, with the kind of vivacious smile you only really saw on small children, sparkling green eyes, a glow in his cheeks, and his lips a striking, natural rosy shade. Even the slow, morbid way he spoke in contrast to his youthful features was a bit endearing, like a baby sloth might be.

Liam would have liked to have been paired up with Harry. Or maybe even Zayn, who seemed really nice. Anyone else besides Louis, really.

Zayn laughed again. "I'll miss ya, bro. See you at the finish line."

"Not if I get there first," Louis quipped.

"Right, the firefighter... He's probably going to be a good partner."

"If just for that firefighter physique. I'll miss your brains."

Liam moved away, mostly so he didn't hear any more, and so he could finally get his time with Niall and give him one last goodbye hug, now that he was unoccupied again.

"Looks like you're getting on well with your new partner," Liam remarked. "Should I be jealous?" He playfully pouted.

Niall giggled. "Oh, Payno! I could never replace you!" He moved forward and clapped a hand on Liam's shoulder. Liam wrapped his arm around Niall's back as he hid a grin into his shoulder.

"It's a shame we won't be able to bring our own mobiles. Or else I'd be updatin' you all the way," Niall told Liam as he pulled away from his hold.

"Me, too." Liam smiled. "Well, I hope you get to go to a proper beach."

"Hope you do, too." Niall had a sad, but wistful, expression in his eyes. "Promise to take photos of all the best places you visit. That way, I can relive your journey, and it'll be as if I was there! Sort of..."

"I will. You better do it, too!" Liam replied with a finger pointed at Niall's chest. "And take care of yourself, Niall. I don't want you hurting your knee or getting into trouble."

Niall laughed. "Same to you! I know you're trainin' to be a firefighter, but make sure your new partner's got your back."

Liam raised his eyebrows and scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure he will..."

"Hey, Liam," Niall said, his bright eyes looking a bit more serious now.

"Yeah?" Liam blinked.

"Don't let that bloke Louis get to you. He's a bit eccentric, but seems like an all-right guy. Just remember—you get to travel the world for free! So have fun!"

Liam nodded. "Yeah, I'll try."

"Do or do not. There is no try," Niall replied in a deeper voice, as part of his Yoda impression.

Liam laughed. "All right, I will!"

"Can I have all the teams gather round with their new partners!" Bill called out on his loud speaker.

Liam reached forward and wrapped his arms around Niall's slight frame as Niall brought his arms back around Liam's torso, gripping him tight. They clapped each other on the back and broke apart with smiles.

"Best of luck to you, mate," Liam told Niall, blinking the warm, itchy feeling out of his eyes. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Liam. Remember—have fun!" Niall widely grinned. "We'll see each other in a month."

After he and Niall split ways, Liam found Louis again, just leaving an embrace and fist bump with Zayn. After Zayn pulled away, he looked up and saw Liam, then gave him a sanguine smile. Liam smiled back, glad that at least Zayn was still being friendly to him.

Louis turned his head to see who Zayn's smile was directed to, but once he saw Liam, his eyes flattened and his jaw grew taut.

"Good luck on the race," Zayn told Liam as he walked up to him, his hazel eyes sparkling like nothing Liam had ever seen before—well, apart from animated Disney films.

"Yeah, good luck to you, too!" Liam replied with a grin, ignoring the obvious glower Louis was giving him from just behind Zayn.

"Take care of Louis for me," Zayn added with a thumb pointed back toward his best mate. "And don't worry—he doesn't bite. Not that hard, anyway."

Liam drew his eyebrows together in concern, but much to his relief, it only took two seconds for Zayn to break into a radiant laugh. "I'm kidding! But do make sure he doesn't fall off any cliffs or anything whilst buggering off with that football he's so obsessed with."

"I'll do my best," Liam answered with a nod.

"Cheers," Zayn nodded back before making his way over to Harry, who greeted him with a wide grin and outstretched arms, as if Zayn was an old mate he was reuniting with. Liam smiled at this, then turned his attention back to his new partner—who was still glaring at him.

Liam's smile faded as he walked the remaining steps to meet Louis, who only acknowledged him with a curt nod. He still hadn't said an actual direct word to Liam since they'd got thrown together as partners. And now they were stood together in an awkward silence that was only getting more uncomfortable as each second passed by.

Liam turned to face Louis and sharply exhaled, "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot—well, more like the wrong _football_ , aha..." He stopped as soon as he saw that Louis's cold expression had not changed. He bit his lower lip, then continued. "Anyway—I just—I really want to win this, and I think you do, too, so let's forget everything and start all over. Hi, I'm Liam."

Louis blinked once, then curved his lips into a crooked grin. "You're not being serious, are you?" He breathed out a scoff. "Look, if we're going to be partners in this race, you really need to loosen up, mate. And I can't have you getting into a strop about every little thing that doesn't go quite right."

Liam frowned. "Who said I would?"

"Well, you full-on cried at me over accidentally knocking you with a football," Louis stated with an arched eyebrow.

"I did not cry," Liam protested as he scrunched his eyebrows together.

Louis sent him a roguish look as he crossed his arms. "Liam, was it? Liam Payne?"

Liam tentatively nodded.

"Liam, just follow my lead and we'll definitely win this race," Louis told him with a toothy grin.

Liam breathed out a laugh. “You sound confident.”

Louis arched an eyebrow. "I am."

One by one, each team was taken into a separate, conjoined conference room to pick up their travelling bags and given a microphone and wire. They had to wear these either tucked into their trousers or taped onto the underside of their shirts, with the small mic end pinned near the shoulder.

It was a strange experience for Liam, who had forgotten for a bit that this was a reality television show he was competing on, which meant that he was going to be followed around with a camera and what he said and did on camera was going to be broadcast to millions. No big deal.

"They're a bit irritating to the skin, are they not?" Louis asked as he fidgeted with his own wire and mic behind his back.

Liam shrugged a shoulder. "Just a bit."

Louis frowned. "I can't believe we have to wear these bloody things all the time, even when we sleep."

"Yeah, you're loud enough without the mic, as it is," Liam laughed to himself.

Louis turned to stare at him for a bit. Liam cleared his throat as he looked down.

"That was actually a bit funny. And a bit insulting." Louis thoughtfully tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe you're not a complete soggy blanket after all."

"A what?" Liam questioned.

Louis snickered. "Never mind it."

"Mr. Tomlinson, I'm afraid you're going to need to leave behind one of your bags," the woman at the desk with all the mics told him.

"What?" Louis almost hissed.

"The guidelines suggest that you only bring one bag to travel with, as it makes our accommodations for you easier to plan, as well as easier for you to travel, since you'll have to wear your packs during most of the race. Furthermore, carrying more than one piece of baggage will be costly with certain transportation companies."

"To hell with the guidelines—aren't guidelines there to just guide?" Louis argued.

The woman shortly laughed, then stood up, her palms flat on the desk. "Mr. Tomlinson, I'm going to ask you not to take that tone with me and to leave behind one of your bags."

Louis turned up his chin and arched an eyebrow. "Then I shall kindly refuse."

The woman arched her own long, dark eyebrows as she stared him down. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear—you're not allowed to take more than one bag, so we'll be keeping one of them here, whether you like it or not."

Louis didn't flinch and narrowed his eyes. "You should have written that in the official rules, then, if you were going to be so arsey about it. As it is not, I'm taking two bags, and there's nothing you can—"

"I have room in my pack!" Liam blurted out before Louis and the woman got any more heated. They both turned to him with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"Louis, I can carry as much of your clothes as can fit in my pack. I don't mind," Liam suggested with a hopefully disarming smile.

"You heard the lad. Make a choice—leave all your stuff here or give it to your partner," the woman said as she crossed her arms.

Louis looked to Liam, who gave him a shrug. Then he sharply exhaled, "Fine."

Liam helped Louis unpack his clothes and fold them into his pack. Most of the clothes in Louis's rucksack weren't even folded properly so 3/4 of the multitudes of shirts and hoodies and socks fit into Liam's without even bursting against the zip. The rest, Louis left behind.

"I suppose I should thank you," Louis muttered as Liam hoisted his bulky pack onto his shoulders.

"Oh, you're welcome," Liam replied with an earnest nod.

Louis stared at him closely, but said nothing. It made Liam a bit uncomfortable, so he nervously laughed and averted his eyes.

 

\----

The new eight teams had all gathered under a cloudless, bright blue sky on that green patch of grass that was Parliament Square, situated directly next to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. The River Thames lingered in the back as the white orbs of the London Eye peeked from behind the edges of the clock tower. Perhaps the most iconic imagery of London. Great for telly, Liam supposed. Brightly coloured flags posted at the edge of the square waved and danced against the soft breeze, straight across a row of each team's packs placed directly at the other end, nearest to the Supreme Court building.

"Welcome to Season 8 of Around the World in 30 Days! I am your host, Scott Mills, and we are in beautiful London today. As an added twist to the game, for the first time in history of this series, each team is comprised of total strangers—never met before! Will each team be able to overcome their differences and work together to traverse the globe, complete daunting challenges, and get back to London in one piece? Stick around to find out."

Scott continued his speech and repeated pretty much the same spiel from earlier, this time for the audience at home with a more visually appealing backdrop, Liam guessed.

"Now, remember—though you will be travelling on different itineraries, this is still a race. You're going to want to be efficient with your travel time. In a minute, I will blow this horn and all of you are to start the race—go to your bags, which are just across this strip of grass—and you will find an envelope containing the itinerary for your next destination, along with finances provided for that particular journey. Is everyone clear about that?"

Everyone nodded and started to warm up. Louis picked up his heels and stretched his quads. Liam squatted down a few pulses. They shortly glanced at each other before moving into running position.

Scott's voice rang out: "On your marks... Get set... Go!"

The horn blared and everyone took off onto the grass. Keeping his arms close to his side, Liam sprinted with Louis just beside him. His heart pounded, the excitement from the morning rushing back without warning and putting the smile back on his face. As they reached their packs, Liam snatched up the blue envelope lying on top of his. Louis hovered over Liam's shoulder as he slung on his own pack.

“It says we are to go to London Heathrow Airport and—we're going to Switzerland!” Liam exclaimed.

“Switzerland! Great!” Louis cheered.

Liam quickly reached down and slung on his pack in one fluid movement. Everyone else was still scrambling with their own envelopes as he and Louis ran toward the street, though he managed to share a fleeting, whimsical look with Niall, who was already laughing as he ran alongside his partner Stacey.

Liam would miss that laugh.

But now is not the time for that kind of thinking—now is the time to focus on winning!

A row of taxis awaited the teams just at the edge of the pavement, but only six remained. Liam was glad that Louis kept up with his speed as they quickly rushed into one of the taxis, cutting off Gemma and Diana—who cursed and made obscene hand gestures before they rushed to the next available taxi.

"Oh, that was mean, wasn't it?" Louis remarked with a blatantly unapologetic, toothy grin.

Liam laughed, "It's a race, isn't it?"

Louis sent him a smug look of approval as the car sped off—that's when Liam noticed a cameraman already in the passenger seat, moving his lens partially into the back seat and practically in their faces. Liam exchanged an awkward glance with Louis, who looked just as off-put by this.

“I suppose we're supposed to banter, then,” Louis muttered.

Liam bent an eyebrow, then looked back at the camera, “Um, well... “

"We're going to Switzerland! Oi! Oi!" Louis howled to the camera as he raised his fists in the air.

Liam shortly laughed, his ears ringing a bit from the loud volume of Louis's voice.

“Oh, what is this? Driving Miss Daisy?” Louis instigated as he rapped a hand on the driver's headrest “Come on, man! Hurry, we've got a race to win!”

Liam wanted to say something to Louis about not being rude, but the driver did speed up without a word. Louis gave him a pointed raise of his eyebrows. Liam returned a conceding raise of his eyebrows, then he looked out the car window to get a rapidly-moving view of London. It's not often he gets to go to London, so it still holds a sense of novelty for him to see these large streets and all these magnificent-looking buildings with famous landmarks sprinkled in between.

Liam caught sight of the cameraman again, who had still said no word. He supposed that was his job, to just sit there and film, but it was still awkward. The taxi driver seemed to think the same, and turned on the radio.

Liam looked down at the envelope, noting the budget of 150 Swiss Francs, and went over the itinerary details once more. They're supposed to take a flight to Berne, then meet at some place called Lauenensee. He's not even sure he knows how to pronounce that.

"Does it say what we're to do once we get to... whatever that place is called?" Louis asked Liam as he leaned over to look into the envelope.

Liam shook his head. "No, just get to the camp site of Lake Lauenensee."

"Hmm. That's odd," Louis remarked.

They got to Heathrow quickly enough, paid the driver, and darted off through the airport. The Swiss Airlines counter greeted them and got them onto a plane in just 45 minutes, where Liam and Louis seated themselves in row 14, Just close enough to admire the wing through the tiny window on their left.

“This is really going to be something, not knowing who's in what place whilst we're all racing,” Louis remarked after they had taken off into the air. “I think we're making good time, though.”

Liam quietly nodded as he put his head back against the head rest. His heart fluttered at the thought of how many different planes he'd by flying on during this race. Possibly until he got sick of it.

"So. Liam," Louis started as he turned to him with his hands clasped across the arm rest between them. "Are you one of those firefighters who rescues kittens from trees?"

Liam swallowed. "Um, well, if a kitten needs rescuing, and someone calls, then we're kind of obligated to rescue them."

Louis stared at him in response. This made Liam's throat grow dry.

Then Louis broke into a laugh. "I was joking."

"Oh," Liam breathed out a short laugh as he formed a small grin.

"I'm sure you do actual heroic type stuff on a regular basis, though, don't you?" Louis asked.

"Um, yeah. I guess," Liam replied as he looked away from Louis.

"Must be exciting. Saving people and burning houses all the time. And kittens," Louis softly chuckled.

"Well, what about you? You're in uni, right? That's got to be fun," Liam suggested.

Louis scoffed. "Yeah, _real_ exciting. Papers, exams, student loans, and then a part-time job that I hate."

Liam's face dropped. He felt kind of bad for bringing it up now. That didn't sound like fun at all.

Louis noticed, and breathed out a chuckle. "I mean, of course I have fun sometimes! I have Zayn to keep me company, after all—He's a bit of a lazy wanker, though—falls asleep all the time during lecture, then relies on me to give him the notes the same night. I swear, he's only surviving because of me."

Liam softly laughed. "You play football, too, right? Are you in a club or something?"

"No, I'm not good enough to be on a club team," Louis looked down and laughed, though there was a hint of pessimism to it.

Liam nodded, then they both went quiet. In just an hour, the plane began its descent and they could see actual landscape instead of clouds outside the window.

"Do you mind if I look over?" Liam asked.

"Go ahead," Louis exhaled. He rested back as Liam cautiously leaned forward to stare out the window. He could see the snowcapped tops of the Swiss Alpine mountain range, small villages dotting up the landscape between all the green. He couldn't stop his mouth from opening in awe as he smiled.

"I've never been to Switzerland before! This is amazing!" Liam exclaimed as he stared at the lush summer scenery.

"I came here one year for a ski trip with me family and friends. 'Course, it was winter. There was much more snow," Louis remarked as he looked out the window.

Liam sat back and nodded. They were actually having a normal, civilised conversation during this whole plane ride. Maybe this partnership with Louis wouldn't be so bad after all.

After twenty more minutes, the plane finally touched down to the airport in Berne. A new team of two cameramen met up with them just outside the arrival terminal at the airport, where a shuttle was already waiting to take them to the small mountain village of Gstaad (another name that Liam and Louis couldn't pronounce correctly).

Liam and Louis met up with a contact at the shuttle station, a young Swiss man named Max, who advised them on the next steps of their challenge.

“As you may already be aware, your first challenge is to hike to Lake Lauenensee. Since it is nearly four o'clock now, you have until seven o'clock to get to your destination and pitch your tent. Should you complete the challenge, you get to leave in the morning. Should you fail, you will have to wait until the afternoon shuttle to take you back to the airport.”

Liam nodded as he took note of this. Louis stood silently with his arms crossed.

Max smiled. “Since we are still in Gstaad, you will have to take a cable car up to the top of the mountain in Wispile and begin your trek to Lauenensee from there, which will be clearly marked on a trail. That is all I can tell you. Good luck—time is ticking!”

Liam and Louis quickly glanced at each other, then started off in a sprint through the village side by side, looking for any sign of how to get to the cable car station.

Gstaad is a charming village, that would probably look even more charming in the winter, with thick carpets of white snow laid out on the ground and capping the tops of each building, and icicles hanging from the roofs. But even in late June, Liam found fascination in the storybook-like architecture of the small wooden buildings, the shops, the flowers, and the way that the warmest shades of green hills and blue sky served as a backdrop in every direction he looked. The air was crisp and slightly cool with a gentle breeze, though everything looked colourful and vibrant, like the way an idyllic Summer should.

“Wispile, Wispile, Wispile...” Liam kept whispering to himself.

Louis chuckled. “Let's just ask someone how to get there. I'm sure they speak English here—they did when I came up for a ski trip.”

Liam nodded as he followed Louis, who took off with a strut toward the nearest building, which was a sports clothing shop. Much to Liam's pleasant surprise, the clerk at the shop knew exactly how to get to Lauenensee, and they were able to easily find the station, buy their tickets, and get onto the right cable car.

Liam had picked up a couple pamphlets from the cable car station in Gstaad, which contained maps of the various trails on the mountain, though the language of the print was Swiss—or German, he corrected himself—either way, he couldn't read it. As soon as they got dropped off in Wispile, he studied the map and their surroundings, though Louis had already started on the main hiking trail.

“Hurry!” Louis shouted as he turned around. Liam put down the pamphlet and skipped to catch up to him. They walked for twenty minutes, Liam continually looking back at his map to make sure they were going the right way. Louis was still ahead of him and excitedly gasped as he got to the top of the next turn.

“Liam! Come this way!” Louis shouted as he went off the main path into a skinny dirt path, which was bordered by tall grass and looked very rocky.

“Do you know where you're going?” Liam sceptically asked.

“It's a shortcut!”

Liam shortly sighed. “I think we should just stick to the main route. After all, we have no idea where this could lead to—”

“Do you want to win, Liam?” Louis sneered. “Well, we're not going to by taking the long way, at the rate we're going at. This path probably cuts the route in half.”

“Probably?” Liam remarked as he stood still.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Look—it's a worn path! Which must mean that it's been taken by many people in the past! Trust me on this, Liam.”

Liam reluctantly looked back to the main path. “I don't know...”

“Well, I know that if we continue on the main path, we won't get there in time. Now follow my lead!”

“Louis...” Liam protested, but it was in vain, as Louis went on without waiting for him. Liam went after him, hoping for both of their sakes that Louis's shortcut actually brought them where they needed to be.

On they walked for another 45 minutes through dirt, grass, and eventually a cluster of trees, where the skinny path had become even less polished. Louis caught his foot on a stone jutting out of the ground, then grunted as he stopped. He stooped down and picked up his foot to fish out several pebbles from inside his black Vans.

"You know, those aren't very good shoes to be hiking in," Liam remarked as they continued on the downward-sloping path.

"Sorry if I don't own the wardrobe of a lumberjack," Louis replied as he drew his eyes up and down Liam's outfit.

Liam rolled his eyes. "You don't need to dress like a lumberjack to hike—Did you not pack a decent pair of trainers—even though you took more than one rucksack's worth of t-shirts?"

"First off, half the shirts I packed were for Zayn—and secondly, these shoes are perfectly fine to—whoa!" Louis had slid in the dirt and onto his bum.

Liam rushed forward, carefully planting his ankles into the slanted, silty forest floor.

"You all right?"

"I'm fine!" Louis snapped as he dusted off his jeans. "You distracted me."

Liam raised his eyebrows. "Of course. It was _my_ fault you slid on your bum.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. "Exactly.”

Liam decided to not spur on the argument. "If you need help getting down this hill, I can—"

"What? Are you going to hold my hand?" Louis scoffed as he picked himself up. "Is that what they do in boy scouts?"

Liam rolled his eyes. Now he kind of wants to see Louis tumble down that hillside.

After a few more minutes of walking, Louis skipped along the path again and stood on the tips of his toes to look into the distance.

"Liam! I can see water!" Louis kicked up his heels and sprinted along the path again.

Liam followed until the trees started to let more sunlight in between them, and indeed he saw a strip of blue just beyond the edges of branches. He and Louis reached a small clearing just outside the woods and there was the lake, lapping up at the edge of the mossy grass.

"Is this the right place?" Liam asked. He looked down at his map, then across the lake, and saw what looked like a cabin and another large patch of grass.

“'Course it is! It's a lake! The only lake around for miles,” Louis answered with crossed arms.

"Louis... I don't think this is right," Liam said as he looked down at his pamphlet.

"We got to the lake, didn't we? Maybe if we just keep walking further down the shoreline..."

"But look at the position of the sun, and the map—" Liam pointed a finger onto the map. "The normal end of the trail is on the other side of this lake."

Louis grabbed the map from Liam's hand and narrowed his eyes. Then he looked up and back to the lake. "Maybe if we walk around the edge?"

"It would take nearly as long, and I'm not sure we can—there might not be walkable space all around.” Liam sighed. “We should have just stayed on the main path...”

Louis gave him a flat look. “Well, the camp _is_ right there.”

“Yeah, let's just swim across, Louis. With our packs on,” Liam muttered.

Louis tilted his head. “It's not impossible.”

Liam gave him a judgemental stare.

Louis scoffed. "Don't look at me like that! I did get us here faster!"

Liam breathed out an exasperated sigh. "We'll have to go back. On the main route this time."

He turned around and started back up the sloping path. Louis followed just behind him, the silent cameramen following him just several feet behind.

As they made their way back to the main trail, Liam took big strides with no effort, though Louis lagged behind, complaining about stones in his shoes.

"God, this is all just a load of bollocks, isn't it?" Louis griped. "Camping? Who travels just to go camping? You can go camping in England, I'm sure. Some amazing international trip, to come to this random fucking trail in the middle of the Alps. It's not even winter! Who comes to the Alps in the summer? And who knew it still got hot at this time of year, even with the altitude? I already feel like I'm wearing two entire coats of dirt and sweat! It's rather—Liam! Slow down!"

"I'm trying to get to the camp site before the sun sets!" Liam shouted from twenty feet ahead on the path.

"Well, we both have to get there at the same time, remember?!" Louis shouted as he slowly clambered up the stony path.

"Then hurry!" Liam called out as he turned back around and continued.

Liam and Louis were both damp-haired, limbs aching, mouths dry, and backs drenched in sweat by the time they reached the camp site, a small, grassy meadow along Lake Lauenensee. It was already 8pm and the sun had ducked below the horizon, leaving the sky a slowly darkening violet.

“Hi, lads. You didn't make it. You know what this means," announced Max, who had somehow got there before them. He handed them a blue envelope. “Here is your next destination, instructions, and the budget provided for you when you get there. Good luck!"

Max immediately left onto a nearby path and Louis glared at him. “How the fuck did he get here before us?” he hissed.

“Took a car,” one of the cameramen answered.

Louis rolled his eyes as he put his hands on his hips. Meanwhile, Liam opened up the blue envelope.

"Where are we going next?" Louis asked as he tiredly turned to him.

"Rome," Liam replied as he handed Louis the envelope.

"Rome?" Louis repeated, his eyes brightening up. "Oh, that's sick! I've never been to Rome!"

"Yeah, me neither. Of course, we'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to even get there,” Liam sighed.

"Buck up, mate! At least look a bit excited about it! It's not everyday we get to go to Rome!" Louis scolded as he slapped at Liam's back again.

Liam still wasn't sure if this was just his way to be so rough, or if he was purposely making his slaps hurt.

He weakly grinned. "Yeah, well, first we have to worry about our stay here." He looked at the tools on the ground, which included a huge lump of canvas, steel rods of various lengths, a hammer, and tacks.

“You want to help me get this up?” Liam asked Louis.

“Oh, I'm sure you're much better at that than me—boy scout training and all,” Louis remarked as he plopped down onto the grass.

Liam put his hands on his hips. “Well, then... would you like to gather some firewood and start a fire?”

Louis groaned out a yawn. “All that hiking's got me knackered. You know, it is a warm night out. Are you sure we even need a fire?"

Liam knelt down onto the ground to pick up the tacks and breathed out through his nose as he tried not to snap at Louis. What a lazy wanker. Wanting to take shortcuts, not wanting to help Liam put up the tent, and now he doesn't even want to go look for firewood.

"Well, if you want to eat, we're going to need a fire if we want to cook anything."

Louis grabbed at his stomach and grimaced. "Now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit starved. Shit, I forgot to even think about food! Thank you for that, Liam. What would I do without you?"

Liam saw Louis glare at him, but he just directed his attention back to the supplies. "They've left us a coolbox here, with a freeze pack and a couple water bottles inside, a tackle box and fishing rods. We might have to fish for dinner."

"It's already dark. Aren't the fishes sleeping?" Louis asked with a half snort.

"Well, if we had taken the main path in the first place, Louis, we would have got here when the sun was still up," Liam gritted through his teeth.

Louis narrowed his eyes. "Still going to hold that against me?"

"Well, it was _your_ idea to take a shortcut."

"You followed me, though. Aren't you supposed to be an expert on the woods or something? Should have known better than to follow an amateur like me. Proper boy scout, you are," Louis snorted.

Liam's jaw tightened. "Whatever, Louis—can you just go gather some firewood? I'll take care of everything else."

Louis turned his chin up at Liam and walked into the woods without another word, one of the cameramen following right behind him.

Liam set up the tent in only ten minutes, and even spread out his things neatly before he got started on organising the fishing supplies. A small, bright lantern was provided for them in addition to the fire pit, so at least if they were inept at starting a fire, they still had a source of light.

Louis came back shortly with his arms full of twigs of varying size.

"That's it?" Liam asked.

Louis flatly pursed his lips at Liam. "I'll have you know it wasn't easy finding branches in the dark, Payne!"

Liam shifted his eyes a bit at the "Payne."

Louis dropped the pile of twigs onto the grass, then picked up his shirt to wipe at the sweat on his face.

At that moment, Liam noticed a light blinking in the distance and tried to focus his eyes to see what it was. The light came from the windows of a small cabin on the other side of the lake. Smoke was billowing from the chimney stack and now that Liam took notice, something smelled delicious.

Louis followed Liam's eyes and sniffed the air. "Oi, let's go over to that cabin and have dinner there!"

Liam blinked a few times before answering, "We can't just go barge into someone's cabin and demand dinner."

Louis turned to Liam and smacked his arm. "Of course we can! They'd right flounder in guilt if they refused a couple of poor, starving travellers at their door. Come on, Payne. Let's get this row boat across the lake.”

Liam sighed as he put down the fishing line he was preparing. "Louis, I'm not so sure this is a good idea..."

Louis ignored him and was already at the shore, untying the rope line of the row boat. "Help me with this, Payne! Or else I'll leave you here to starve!"

Liam rolled his eyes and stalked over to Louis. One of the cameramen got into the boat as the other filmed Liam and Louis run and push the boat into the water. Louis hopped in first, leaving Liam to slosh a bit with water up to his knees before he clambered in, almost tipping the row boat over.

Much to Liam's surprise and Louis's satisfaction, the young Dutch couple staying at the cabin were happy to share their meal with a couple of dirty, sweaty lads. They ate a hearty meal of roasted brown trout and potatoes and explained to Louis and Liam how this was their honeymoon trip. Although, they seemed more intrigued as to why Louis and Liam were being followed around by a cameraman.

"We're filming a documentary," Louis explained with a deadpan purse of his lips.

"Louis!" Liam laughed. Then he turned to Wendy and Caesar, who were looking at them in half-delight, half-confusion. "We're not actually filming a documentary—"

"Yes we are," Louis persisted. "Going to try and enter it into Cannes next year, perhaps. Maybe even win an Oscar."

"Really? That's very interesting," Caesar remarked as his eyes grew wide.

"Louis..." Liam chided again with a bend of his eyebrows. "That's not actually what we're doing. We're—ow!"

Louis had smacked Liam on the arm and leaned in close to whisper to him. "Don't you remember? We've sworn to keep our lips sealed about the race for the next four months. Don't go breaking the rules now."

He gave a wide-eyed warning stare to Liam, who couldn't help but breathe out a nervous laugh. Then he turned to the newlywed couple. "Right... um, yes, we are filming a documentary."

Louis gave a sharp-toothed grin of delight. "Tell 'em the title of the doc, Liam."

Liam blinked over at Louis, whose face was stretched in pure delight at their now-joint fabrication. He cleared his throat, "Well, tentatively... um, Travels and Tribulations."

"That's bloody terrible, Liam!" Louis remarked with a hardly stifled laugh.

Liam gave him an exasperated stare.

Wendy laughed at the exchange. "You two seem very close! That's nice, to travel with someone like that!"

Liam and Louis shifted grimaces of disdain with each other, but before they could explain how very not-close they were, Wendy went on, "That's how you know if you can be with someone forever." She turned to Caesar and caressed his cheek. "When you can travel with someone and not want to kill each other, but actually enjoy it, and enjoy spending that much time and intimacy with them, you can get through anything together."

_I'm putting my bets more on wanting to kill Louis than actually enjoying his company_ , Liam thought to himself. Then he glanced at Louis, who was leaning his elbows on the table with his head ducked, obviously trying to hide a massive eye roll. He was probably thinking the same thing...

 

Louis would have tried to worm his way into sleeping over at the newlyweds' cabin after dinner if Liam hadn't struck up an enthusiastic spiel about how exciting it was that they would be camping and sleeping right under the stars.

"It would have felt too imposing—they're on their honeymoon!" Liam argued as they rowed back across the black lake. Luckily they were at high enough altitude that the stars and the half moon shone bright enough to light their way back.

Louis, who had his arms crossed and wasn't helping paddle, retorted, "They would have been up for it! And now we'll have to sleep in the grass and with insects buzzing and biting us all night because you had to act so noble!"

Liam kept his eyes trained on their camp site until the boat lurched up onto the shoreline again. Louis hopped out and the eerily silent cameraman stepped out to film, leaving Liam to tie up the row boat at the small dock by himself.

Louis immediately went into the tent and was half dressed when Liam made his way back. Liam threw off his boots and changed into his sleeping clothes without a word to Louis, who settled down into his makeshift bed on the ground with a low huff. It was awkwardly silent as Liam bent down to turn off the lantern, then made his way blindly into his own bed on the ground.

"Goodnight," Liam ventured.

"Night," Louis starkly replied.

Liam turned on his side, hoping that the morning would bring better luck and spirits to himself and Louis.

But after lying awake over an hour, he still couldn't sleep. He had started to feel lonely and thought about Niall, wondering if he was having a good time wherever he was—no doubt he was. Niall could make a good time out of anything and he and his partner actually got on well.

Liam exhaled a big sigh.

He hadn't expected to feel so—well, not exactly miserable, but he can't consider himself content, either—on the first day of this journey. This was all supposed to be one big, fun adventure! And now it just feels more like a punishment for believing an opportunity this amazing came without a price.

What had he got himself into?

 

\---

The next morning, Liam woke up well ahead of Louis, who had his head buried under his hoodie and a blanket. Liam stood up and stretched before leaving the tent. When he stepped out, he was floored.

In the morning, this place looked straight out of a fairytale. The grass looked a brighter green than he had ever seen, the water looked a bluer hue than ever, and the mountains loomed majestically under small, puffy clouds. It was so peaceful and quiet. The front section of Liam's hair that had flopped over during his sleep was lifted by the soft breeze that sailed through the valley.

Liam dug into his pack and took out his digital camera. He walked around for the next ten minutes, thinking how great the pictures were going to be when he'd be able to share them with Niall and his family after he got back home. The rest of that morning, Liam got to work on some of his regular exercise drills. Although he was technically on holiday, he didn't want to take a dip in the progress of his firefighter training. He was on his 43rd press-up when he felt something bounce off his back.

He lowered his body to the grass and turned around to see Louis skip after a football that bounced just near him. His hair looked even bigger and tangled than usual, and he had changed into jean shorts and a grey vest top, displaying some fancy script tattooed on his chest. All Liam could make out was the word “what,” which was exactly what he wanted to ask Louis.

“Hey, Payne, how's about we play some footie?” he asked with a skinny smirk on his face.

Liam got back into his press-up stance. “No, thanks. I'm not much of a football player.”

“Oh, come on... Let's just have a kickabout!” Louis complained as he bounced the football between his knees and his toes. He tossed it high in the air and it came sinking down just centimetres from Liam's face.

Liam sighed. “You're not going to leave me alone until I say yes, are you?”

Louis tilted his head in amusement. “You catch on quick.”

Liam got onto his knees and then stood up. “Fine, but I'm warning you—I'm a bit rubbish at it.”

“You can be my keeper, then!” Louis suggested with a bright look.

“So that you have an excuse to repeatedly kick a football at me? I don't think so,” Liam replied with a shake of his head.

“I stayed clear of your dome this time, didn't I?” Louis asked as he crossed his arms.

Liam begrudgingly agreed to play—it would still be a form of exercise—and found himself working up a sweat as he played keeper for the invisible goal Louis invented. He acquired grass and dirt stains all over his shirt, arms, and shorts with all the tackles to the ground that he made. They played for about half an hour, until Louis suddenly got bored and sank down onto the grass.

“Mm... I'm hungry,” Louis pouted. “You think Wendy and Caesar are up?”

Liam laughed. “Seriously?”

Immediately after this exchange, Liam cleansed himself of all his sweat and dirt with a dip in the lake. Louis wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and refused to go into the lake, in favour of getting back to civilisation in Gstaad, having a real meal, and taking a real shower in the next place they went to, “like a _normal_ person.”

After getting back to Gstaad through another hiking trail, a shuttle took them back to the airport in Berne. By 6pm Liam and Louis were on route to Rome by air.

It only took them an hour to get to the Eternal City, but this time, neither shuttle nor cameramen awaited them at the airport.

“Maybe we got here early?” Louis questioned as he stared around the crowded white corridor of the Arrivals terminal.

Liam took out the blue envelope he was given in Lauenensee. Their only clue as to what to do next was: “You will meet your next contact at the top of the staircase named for a foreign kingdom.”

“That's it?” Louis asked after he finished reading it.

“I guess so,” Liam replied with a shrug.

“The staircase... named for a foreign kingdom...” Louis mused out loud.

“I don't really know much about Rome, but I'm guessing it has to be somewhere famous, right?” Liam asked.

Louis's hands shot up. “Ooh! Spanish Steps! The Spanish Steps—that's where we're supposed to meet.”

“Spanish steps? That's a thing in Rome?” Liam asked.

“Yes, it's a thing in Rome,” Louis narrowed his eyes at Liam.

“Why's it called Spanish Steps if it's in Rome?” Liam asked as he creased his brow.

“It just is,” Louis replied with a furrow of his brow.

“So you don't know, either,” Liam remarked with a pleased raise of his eyebrows.

“Shut up, Liam,” Louis replied with a glare. Liam quietly laughed at this.

The two of them then coordinated a plan of transportation into the city that would drop them close to the Spanish Steps. The least expensive method was to take the train from the airport, since a taxi would deplete half of their budget. When the train dropped them off at Rome Central Station, they emerged from the crowded platform to a street full of flashing lights, looming buildings, and zooming cars.

“Here's the Spanish Steps,” Liam said as he pointed to the marker on a map he picked up from the train station.

"Let's ask someone how to get there," Louis suggested.

"I've got a map with bus and metro routes and everything," Liam argued.

"Yeah, but don't you think a local would be a bit more reliable?" Louis countered.

Liam shrugged. "Well, if we get lost on the way, we can still refer to my map." He looked down. “I think we're supposed to take the metro. Do you want to have a look? ...Louis?" Liam looked up, and Louis was no longer right next to him. He turned his head and looked around to see Louis speaking to a middle aged couple.

"...e andare dritto,” the man in a brown leather coat told Louis with his arms spread out straight in front of him.

"Andare dritto, " Louis repeated, making the same gesture.

"Si!"

"E allora deve vedere la fontana in fondo alle scale,” the woman added.

"Oh, got it! Grazie! Grazie!" Louis replied. He turned to finally see Liam.

"You speak Italian?" Liam asked.

"No, not at all," Louis replied. A grin crept up the corners of his mouth. "But I got the gist!"

"Uh-huh..." Liam sceptically raised an eyebrow.

"You just hang onto your map and let me do the leading,” Louis said with a pat on Liam's shoulder.

After getting lost twice—first because they took the metro in the wrong direction, and second because they got off on the wrong stop—they used Liam's map to find their way to the front of a church at the top of the Spanish Steps, the Trinità dei Monti.

“Liam and Louis?” asked a dark haired young man with two cameramen beside him.

“Yes,” Liam nodded, after catching his breath from skipping up all the Spanish Steps.

“Buonasera! My name is Paolo. Since it is late, you two won't start your challenge until tomorrow. Here is the information you'll need,” he handed them a small paper card, “and I'll lead you to your hostel.”

“Oh, a hostel! Lovely—we'll be in a place with actual plumbing this time!” Louis cheered.

 

\----

In the morning, Louis and Liam travelled to the address on the card Paolo had given them, a place called l'Amico's that specialised as a pizzeria. Rome at night was a crowded, chaotic environment, and the mornings were no different. The only change was that Liam could see all of Rome's colours clearly now. Shades of red, pink, orange, and yellow soared above him and not-so-meticulously paved cobblestone covered nearly every inch of ground. Everything was loud, the sounds of cars honking, people bustling and speaking loud above all the other city noise, and the occasional accordion playing on the tram or in a corner of a piazza. Everything just seemed so ALIVE, even though there were all these thousands-year-old ruins wrapped between the rough curves and bends of the streets.

Liam and Louis arrived at l'Amico's just before 11am. It was located in a skinny, crowded alleyway just past the bridge Sant-Angelo.

“Your challenge today is to take over l'Amico's and make 200 euros in two hours,” the owner, Giuliana, informed Louis and Liam. “You might want to go out on the street to attract customers, while one of you does the cooking. I will show you how to make a pizza first, and then you'll be on your own. Capisco?”

“Capisco...?” Liam uncertainly repeated.

Giuliana warmly smiled before she made Louis and Liam watch her make a sample margherita pizza. Liam decided to take up cooking duty and adorned a white apron and plastic gloves. Louis stood outside in the street with a small sign raised above his head as he heckled to attract customers.

It went well for the first hour: Louis used his loud voice and any Italian phrases he knew to attract people inside and Liam took and made orders of fairly small pizzas without burning anything. But soon there were too many orders and Liam couldn't do it all by himself, so he called for Louis to come back inside and help him.

“This isn't really working out,” Liam complained as he rolled out another dough base, which was ripping and still not dry enough to stretch out onto the wooden counter.

“Liam?”

“Hm?” Liam turned his head, and promptly got a face full of flour. With his eyes shut tight, he coughed out, “Louis, what the hell are you doing?”

“Have some fun, Payne!” Louis countered as he dug up some more flour and sprinkled it on Liam's forearm.

Liam shook his arm away and wiped at his face with a clean wrist. Louis choked out a laugh as he stared at Liam's face.

“We still have a challenge to finish, Louis!” Liam scolded. “Stop messing around!”

Louis put up his gloved hands in defence and made a mock-worried expression. “Oi, better watch out for the kitchen police!”

Liam furrowed his brow. “Louis, I'm serious. We still have at least ten orders to make, and we're not anywhere near—”

Liam got a mouth, nose and eyelids full of flour this time. He spat out and growled, “That's it!” and picked up a bowl of tomato sauce to splash at Louis.

Louis gasped and gaped at his stained white t-shirt. “Liam! I'm not wearing an apron, you twat!”

“You should have thought of that before you started it,” Liam argued.

“I only threw flour on you!” Louis retorted. He rose an eyebrow then looked back at the counter. “But if you want to play that way...” He grabbed a jar of pickled artichoke hearts and shoved a handful onto Liam's cheek and inside Liam's shirt through his collar. Liam shuddered at this, then grabbed at Louis's wrist as he slapped more tomato sauce on his face (meanwhile customers in the shop gawked at the scene).

Louis grabbed two handfuls of flour and then ran his hands through Liam's hair. Liam pushed back at him and hooked an elbow across Louis's chest so he could splash olive juice in his hair. Louis then retaliated with a pinch at Liam's left nipple and Liam finally let him go as he pulled away sharply.

“NO! NO! NO!”

It was Giuliana, who had just come back into the kitchen. Louis and Liam froze, both looking a right mess with tomato sauce, flour and juice of the pickled artichokes and olives all over their faces and clothes.

“GET OUT!” Giuliana shouted, her face as red as a tomato.

\----

“Look on the bright side,” Louis said after the two retreated to the hostel to shower. “We weren't going to complete that challenge anyway, so it was good that we got out of it early.”

“We still could have tried to finish it...” Liam complained as he rubbed his hair dry with a towel.

Louis started to bounce on his heels. “Hey, this one's better. We get to go to the Coliseum and all the other ruins! Culture! History! Isn't that exciting?! Think we'll get to do gladiator re-enactments?”

Liam scoffed. “Somehow, I don't think so...”

The second challenge was a scavenger hunt. They had to walk the grounds of the Coliseum and the Forum and pick up flags from locations listed as clues on a list. Since neither Liam nor Louis are experts on Ancient Roman history, this proved to be difficult.

“Ugh, can we just hurry up with this?” Louis groaned. “I'd much rather be playing footie, like those lads are doing down there in the grass.” They were currently at the top of a hill within the ruins of the ancient Roman Forum.

“We just have five more clues left,” Liam answered as he turned his wrist to look at his watch. 4:17. They had already been here for nearly two hours.

Louis huffed, “That's still half! And you've not been any help with the clues, since you don't seem to know anything about Rome or ancient history. All you've done is look for flags.”

“Well, at least I'm trying!” Liam grumbled. “I helped you find the last two flags, didn't I?”

Louis groaned, then he jerked his head in the direction of a small group walking the grounds, led by a woman with a bright purple flag tucked into her back trouser pocket.

Louis blinked, and then a smile curved on his lips. “I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner! Come on, Payne. We're getting the rest of the flags now!” He stalked off back down the hill without waiting for Liam.

“What are you doing?” Liam asked as he skipped to catch up with him.

“We're asking for help.”

“Asking for help?” Liam repeated. “Can we do that?”

“There's no rules against it!” Louis called back as he ran down the grassy hill.

As they followed the group, Louis gestured for Liam to be quiet with a finger to his lips, and threatened the cameramen with violence to their equipment if they didn't stay far enough away to keep them from attracting attention. Then he and Liam casually immersed themselves into the back of the small crowd.

“...Any questions?” the female tour group leader asked.

Louis raised his hand. “I have several!”

Much to Liam's surprise, Louis was able to get the answers of the next four clues out of the tour guide, including the god of Capitol (Temple of Saturn), the graveyard of priests and virgins (Temple of Vesta), the landmark that shares the name of a famous wizard (Arch of Septimius Severus), and the twin sons of Jupiter (Temple of Castor and Pollux). Louis saved the final clue for himself, and Liam only figured out why after they had picked up the flag at the Arch of Septimius Severus.

“Ow,” Liam grumbled, as Louis had smacked his arm with the paper upon which the clues were printed.

“Why didn't you tell me this was the last clue?” Louis narrowed his eyes at him.

“I figured we'd find the flags in order, make it easier that way, get to it when we get to it,” Liam shrugged as he moved away from Louis, in case of another attack.

Louis stared at him with a raised eyebrow. “But this was the easiest clue!”

Liam looked back at #10: Et tu, Brute?

“How?” he questioned with a furrowed brow. This was by far the most cryptic thing on that list!

Louis rolled his eyes. “You are so uncultured...” Then he stalked off without waiting for Liam again.

Liam scoffed at this and narrowed his eyes as he watched Louis's back. “You're really just going to leave it at that?”

Louis ignored him and walked on as he checked his map of the Forum. They finally stopped in front of a crumbling square of ruins and a wall that bordered a smaller chamber. Apparently, this was Caesar's grave. 

Louis reached into the opening of the wall next to a large mound of dirt, which was covered with decaying flowers. There was a small, blue flag tied around a small stone.

“How did you know it'd be there?” Liam asked as they walked back to the Forum's main path.

“'Et tu, Brute?' Haven't you ever read _Julius Caesar_?” Louis asked with a condescending breath to his tone.

“Don't think so...” Liam replied.

Louis put his hands on his hips. “Well, it's a play. Shakespeare. Anyway, Caesar got stabbed in the back by Brutus—literally and figuratively—that's where the term backstabber comes from, I believe—and Caesar's last words were 'Et tu, Brute?'” He smirked at Liam.

Liam just raised his eyebrows.

“What?” Louis muttered.

“Nothing. Just surprised that you knew that, that's all.”

“Quite a lot of people know that, Liam,” Louis remarked as he swiped a hand through his fringe. “Well, that was the last flag, so let's get out of here!”

 

They met up with Paolo once more at the Spanish Steps and were handed another blue envelope. This time, Liam let Louis open it.

“Where are we going?” Liam asked.

“Marrakech, Morocco!” Louis belted out. “That ought to be great fun!”

“In bocca al lupo e buonasera!” Paolo shook hands with them both, then left.

“What time does our plane leave?” Liam asked as he peered close to read the itinerary.

“Nine, I think...” Louis replied, folding it closed.

Liam reached for the envelope, but Louis pulled back out of his reach. “Don't you trust me?”

Liam tightened his jaw. “Can I just see it?”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Jesus—oh wait, can I say that so close to the Vatican?” He laughed to himself as Liam inspected the itinerary, showing their flight boarding time to be 0930 and the departure time to be 1030.

The hostel was only a seven-minute walk from the Spanish Steps and tucked away between old buildings, with orange plaster that looked like it was crumbling, revealing a salmon-coloured foundation. Liam and Louis had been sharing with six other people, four of which were their own competition in this race. Naturally, at this stage of competition, the others were still friendly—whether it was fake or not, Liam couldn't tell—so he and Louis were invited to join the four of them for dinner.

They took the bus and walked to a pizzeria that doubled as a tavern, which Liam would have enjoyed more if he hadn't been so put off by their first challenge that day, that he wanted to go weeks without eating another pizza. Louis was very talkative—as usual—and got on well with the blokes, Tom and Danny, who had failed both of their challenges and had to wait for the next day to complete another challenge to move on. Liam spoke more with Adriana and Kristina, who were headed to Prague next.

Once the group returned to the hostel, Tom suggested they all go to a bar near the Spanish Steps and Louis agreed to join them on his and Liam's behalves—except Liam felt no desire to go out drinking.

Louis changed his clothes and was touching up the points of his hair when Liam decided to take out the hardcover atlas book from his pack. He had bought it at London Heathrow Airport just before they boarded their plane to Berne, and this was the first time he cracked it open. He was curious about the time and distance they'd be travelling from Rome to Marrakech, to see when they'd get there, how much time they'd have to do their challenges, etc.

Louis had just slipped his wallet into his back pocket before he walked to the door. "Hey. Liam. Aren't you coming?" he asked as he held onto the door frame.

"No, that's all right. It's kind of late already, and I'm studying our travel itinerary for tomorrow," Liam replied as he sat at the desk in the room, the page of his book turned to North Africa.

“What is that?” Louis asked as he walked up to the desk. Before Liam could protest, Louis snatched the book out of his hands, then inspected the back cover. “Tell me you did not pay twenty quid for this useless thing!”

“It's not useless!” Liam retorted as he snatched his book back. “It's a map book. It's good to know where we're travelling.”

Louis bent his eyebrows and looked to the side. “Yeah, whatever...” He slapped a hand on Liam's shoulder. “Well, come on! Come out with us! How often are you in Rome? And how often do you get to _party_ in Rome? And when in Rome..."

Liam exhaled sharply. "I know, it's just... We already kind of went out tonight and I think we should get a proper good night's sleep—"

"Oh, quit being such a bore!" Louis brashly tapped the brim of Liam's New York Yankees snapback down over his eyes.

Liam closed his eyes and bit his lip as he tipped his hat back into proper position. "Louis—Really... I'm fine staying here."

"God, you are no fun at all, you know that?" Louis sneered as he bopped Liam's hat again.

"Louiiiiiis... Come on!" Kristina called from the doorway. She was already a bit drunk, from the looks of the half empty bottle of white wine she lazily held in her left hand.

"Fun calls! See you later, Payne!" Louis clapped a hand on his shoulder before turning and sprinting to the door, a cameraman following closely behind him. He slammed the door and Liam heard his footsteps echo through the entire hall as he ran down the stairs.

He stared at the closed door for a few seconds after Louis left. Then he shook his head and breathed out a sigh, turning back to his book.

"Why don't you want to go out?" asked Karl, a middle-aged German man sharing the room. "You are young! You should be staying out at night, dancing, kissing young women—or young men, if that's what you like. But instead you are here, in a dimly lit room with an old man and your nose buried in a book."

Liam softly chuckled as he looked down. "I guess that does seem a bit odd, doesn't it?"

"Liam, what is the real reason you don't want to go out?"

"What do you mean?" Liam knitted his brows together.

"What are you afraid of?" Karl asked.

"I'm not afraid of anything," Liam blurted out, becoming uneasy at how this conversation had changed.

Karl barked out a soft laugh.

_Well, that's stupid to say I'm not afraid of anything_ , Liam thought to himself. _I'm afraid of lots of things. I guess I usually never want to go out and get drunk off my arse because I'm scared of losing control. I'm always scared of losing control. That's why I got this map book. That's why I keep a watch on my wrist. That's why I double-check everything. I'm afraid of being unprepared—and being partnered with Louis was definitely not something I was prepared for. I'm afraid our differences will be too much for us to get on well with each other and then that will screw this whole race up—but isn't facing fear the point of all of this?_

"Throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour..." Liam mentally recited to himself. It was part of a quote by Mark Twain that he found on a travel blog. He liked it so much that he had recited it to himself at least fifty times in the last month to help him relieve his apprehension about taking off on a trip around the world.

"Forgive me if I said something wrong," Karl apologised.

Liam looked over at him, then shook his head. "No. You said exactly the right thing."

He stood up, making the wooden chair skid against the floor. Then he picked up his room key and a light jumper from his pack.

"This is what travelling's all about! Sailing from safe harbours into the unknown, letting go of your anchors—so you can discover something new and amazing, right?" Liam rhetorically asked.

"Sure," Karl shrugged.

Liam smiled at him. "Thanks, Karl."

"For what?"

"For reminding me that I am afraid—but that's what this trip is about—facing my fears!" Liam quickly picked up his wallet and stuffed it into his back pocket. He reached for the city map of Rome that was lying open on the desk, but then shrunk his hand back.

Let go a bit of that control, he told himself. He checked that he had the room key in his pocket, then opened the door to the hallway.

"Arrivaderci!" Karl called out.

"Arrivaderci, mate," Liam responded, his own cameraman following just behind him. He turned to him in the hallway. "You don't have to come along. Don't you only film the race stuff?"

"We've got to film as much interesting footage as we can,” the cameraman responded, whose name was Jake, Liam had learned earlier that day.

"Not sure how interesting, I am," Liam dryly laughed. Then he grinned. "You should take the night off, enjoy yourself. Must get annoying following a couple blokes around a cool city, not getting to do anything yourself."

"Ha, man, it's cool. I'm getting paid for this anyway."

"Consider it a bonus, then. Just make as if I stayed in that hostel," Liam said as he clapped a hand on Jake's shoulder.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, mate. Go get yourself some gelato or something!”

"Okay. I'll take you up on the offer,” Jake responded as he put down his camera. “Just don't do anything exciting or scandalous."

He whisked away into the hostel before Liam had the chance to invite him out, so Liam resolved to meet up with Louis and the others at the bar they went to. Surely, they couldn't have gone far. If only he had remembered the name...

But it was after Liam crossed the Spanish Steps and came across a crowded street with several bars that he started to second-guess his optimism. How is he supposed to find Louis amongst all these people? And there's long queues at almost every single bar... It would take him ages to find him.

"This was stupid," Liam said out loud to himself as he turned back onto the cobblestone road.

Though it was only when he got to a wide street and didn't recognise any of the shops that he realised he had been walking in the wrong direction. And he didn't have his map. So he made a guess, turned left, and walked until he saw fairy lights above an alleyway on the edge of a crowded piazza. He wandered in to see scattered groups of people talking, laughing, and dancing around old, strange-looking fountains.

This made Liam feel more intrigued than confused with the city, and he wandered on through beautiful courtyards, past ornately decorated fountains, baths, and other stone works of art. The night was warm and the city didn't seem to have a curfew, jubilant voices, laughter, zooming Vespas, car horns, and street musicians serenading the scene. With all this going on, Liam didn't feel lost anymore. He even stopped to buy a grilled chicken panino from a man who had a small wooden cart in the corner of a courtyard—and it was incredibly delicious.

Liam's wandering eventually led him to the Trevi Fountain. He hadn't even realised he was walking in its direction, but the discovery was amazing—the sheer size of it, the intricate sculpting of the characters, the beautiful Baroque architecture of the Palazzo Poli, to which the fountain was attached, and the way the light of the rippling water reflected and danced onto the marble, creating an ethereal effect.

Yet Liam couldn't help but feel an emptying pull at his chest. As nice as this was, he wished he wasn't by himself. No one else is here by themselves, except for pick-pockets and hustlers stalking the fountain's edge with cameras. He wished Niall could be here with him. He even kind of wished Louis were here.

He just felt so alone. And it was so frustrating. He just wanted someone with him that he could turn to and say, "Hey, look at this! Isn't this amazing? I know it's kind of cheesy, but do you want to throw a coin in the fountain?"

But he wasn't even afforded that luxury. It was just him.

He took out his camera and snapped a picture, not able to get the full scope of the fountain in one shot, but he figured Niall would think it was cool.

He got hold of a city map at a random hotel's lobby and led himself back to his hostel through the small streets. When he returned, Louis was still gone. So were most of the other hostel mates. Only Karl was there, snoring up a storm.

Liam looked down at his watch. It was already midnight. He hoped Louis would come back soon, or at the very least, he would get enough sleep to not be cranky in the morning before they left to the airport.

 

Three hours later, Liam's wish was granted, when he got woken up by the sound of the door being pounded on.

"Liam!"

Liam was still half asleep, so he couldn't immediately recognise the voice. Whoever it was banged the door three more times.

"Liiiaaam, open the dooor! I seem to have misplaced my key!"

It sounded like Louis.

Liam groaned as he lifted his head up from the pillow, and then the rest of his body from his bed. He stumbled over his own shoes in the dark, then made his way to the door, all the while Louis was feebly knocking on the door every half second.

After Liam found the handle and opened the door, Louis lurched forward and stumbled inside. He caught himself against Liam and braced his shoulders to steady himself. Light from the hallway filtered in through the the open doorway and Liam saw Louis's cameraman just behind him. He directed his eyes back down to Louis, who was still halfway-draped over him and smelled like a strong mix of alcohol and... chocolate?

"Ciao, Liam!" Louis went up on his toes and planted swift kisses on each side of Liam's face. "Grazie!"

Liam felt his cheeks warm at this. Wait—why the hell did that make him blush? It's Louis, for Christ's sake...and he's being obnoxious right now, anyway. Even if his lips did feel very soft on his cheek—

"There are people sleeping," Liam whispered to Louis, as a doubled effort to stop his unwarranted thoughts about Louis's lips.

"Oh, right... Of course!" Louis hushed out as he put a hand over his own mouth, stifling a quiet giggle.

"Come on, get in," Liam said as he closed the door behind the two of them, putting the room back into darkness again.

He kept an arm on Louis's elbow to make sure he didn't stumble over his own feet.

"You should have gone out with us!" Louis loudly complained as they walked over to their bunks. "Liam, you sodding party poop... Why do you refuse to have fun?"

"I don't refuse to have fun—and like I said earlier, we need our sleep. It'll be a long day tomorrow," Liam answered.

"Long day... Today was a long day...long night... It was great." Louis breathed out a tired sigh as he clambered up to the bunk above Liam's. He flopped down onto the mattress, making Liam's own bed shake.

"You really should have been there with us, Liam!" Louis repeated.

"Really?" Liam was surprised to hear Louis so adamantly wanting his company.

"Yes—It was quite the sacrilegious experience, to be getting smashed just outside the Vatican. Under the watchful stone eyes of Saint Michael—or Paul... or... Peter—whatever, he had a sword, that's what I remember. Then we had some more gelato near Piazza Navona—I swear, you can never have too much gelato in Rome—gelato around every corner! How does one resist? Oh, and that stupid bloke Tom—he—"

"Louis, go to sleep," Liam shushed. "What time is it even?"

"Like... three... I think..." Louis slurred.

"Well, we've got to get to our plane by ten. So get some rest."

"Yes, sir," Louis replied with a stern tone.

A few seconds later, Liam felt a waft of air from Louis's shoes, which he threw down from the top bunk.

"Hey, Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"I promise you I am not an alcoholic," Louis slurred. "I really am not!"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Louis. Just get some sleep."

"No, hear me out!" Louis had moved to hang just above the edge of the bed, although Liam could barely see him. "I know what you must be thinking right now—like I'm some sleazy lush who gets pissed on the regular. Well, I'm not. I'm quite a respectable young man, actually. That sounds a bit weird. Um, anyway, this just happens to be a special occasion—we're in Rome! Italy! And now we're going to Morocco! We're travelling the world! Is that not worth celebrating?"

"What about remembering it?" Liam asked.

"I'll remember Rome," Louis protested. "It's an amazing place. Beautiful. Love the culture! And the food! And all the gelato!"

"Louis, shush!" Liam quietly laughed.

"Right, right. Goodnight, Liam," Louis whispered as he rested onto his back once more.

"Goodnight," Liam answered, wondering if Louis would even remember this conversation in a few hours.

 

When Liam woke up again, the room was dark, with only a slit of sunlight coming through the curtains on the window. He turned onto his side and pulled the thin duvet over his head, and closed his eyes once more.

He was half asleep when he realised that he needed to be up early. He bolted upright in bed and leant back on his elbows. Then he picked up his left wrist and looked at the time on his watch. He hoped that he had just set the time one hour too far ahead or that he was just seeing things. He rubbed at his eyes and then looked down once again. Nope.

"Oh, no... it's 8:56!" Liam exclaimed. He threw the sheets off of his legs and stood up. He gently slapped at Louis's arm, which was hanging over the edge of his bunk.

"Louis—we have to leave—now—get up!"

Louis groaned as he turned his face into his pillow. "Don't want to get up..."

"Louis, if we don't leave right now, we're going to miss our flight!" Liam hissed through his teeth.

"Wha' time's our plane leave?" Louis asked as he rubbed at his right eye.

"10:30! But we have to board by ten!" Liam shouted. "Come on, Louis, get your things!" He darted over to pick up Louis's camping rucksack and packed anything of theirs that was lying about the room.

"How did I oversleep?” he moaned to himself. He could blame it on Louis coming back late, waking him up in the middle of the night, but that wouldn't be right. After all, if he had been taking it seriously enough, he would have made sure to have woken up earlier.

After hastily checking out, Liam literally sprinted down the Spanish Steps and ran and cut through the the busy cobblestone streets until he got down to the metro station.

"Liam, can you slow up the pace a bit?" Louis moaned, palm on his forehead as he ran behind him. He had a hand on the back of his pack, where his football was secured with elastic strings on the outside. Even the cameramen were struggling to keep up Liam's pace.

"Sorry, Louis—we don't have any time to waste!" Liam called back.

In ten minutes, they finally got to Rome Central Station, and bought train tickets to the airport from a machine. The only thing left to do was get up to the platform on the upper level, get on the train, and they might get to the airport just in time. Liam glanced down at his watch, noting it was 9:20. Their train leaves at 9:22 and there won't be another train for another half hour.

He and Louis quickly reached the top of the stairs, but a huge queue of people were waiting to get past the turnstiles. Liam looked over the crowd of heads to look at the trains. When he spotted the electronic departure sign, the line for Platform 7 was blinking.

"Oh, no... no, no no!" he stuttered.

Liam reached for Louis's wrist and grabbed him as he bolted into a run and pushed through the crowd of people.

"What the hell, Liam?!" Louis growled.

"We're getting on our train!" Liam let go of his wrist, then hoisted himself and leapt over the turnstiles. The train began to depart at that second.

Louis followed suit and ran after Liam. "What are you thinking?"

"It's going pretty slow right now—if we time this right, we can overtake it!"

"Please don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking!" Louis moaned.

"Come on, Louis!" Liam said as he turned the corner, nearing the platform's edge. They had already caught up to the train's speed.

"Have you gone completely mental?!" Louis shouted as they kept running along the platform.

"We have to get on that train! I'm not missing another day!" Liam argued.

"Attenzione!”

Liam and Louis whipped their heads around to see three men in navy blue uniforms and caps running toward them.

"Shit! Liam, we're being chased by police now!" Louis hissed.

"Doesn't matter! We've got our tickets!” Liam protested.

The police still yelled after them, not that Liam understood a word.

Louis turned back around. "Shit! They're getting close!"

Liam shortly glanced between the police and the departing train.

"Louis, we're going to have to jump now. You go first!"

Louis nodded quickly, then ducked low, and picked up his pace to sprint and jump onto the last car of the train, where half a metre's space of footing was left between the door and the edge. He landed gracefully as Liam worked his legs even harder to keep up with the accelerating train.

“Liam!” Louis called out as he looked down, extending an arm. Liam lunged over the edge of the platform and caught onto the railing of the wagon, one of his legs wavering off the edge. With Louis's help, he hoisted himself up properly onto the railing, then they both quickly fled into the train car to hide from the police who were still yelling at them on the platform.

"What the _fuck_ was that, Liam?" Louis gasped out as he flopped against the door. Then he giggled. “You're bloody mental! Could have got ourselves killed!”

Liam was breathing out hard with relief, his heart pounding against his chest. _They made it_.

Louis reached at his back, then narrowed his eyes. He threw his pack onto the floor, and his eyes widened. He pushed Liam out of the way and peered through the window back to the platform.

"My ball!" Louis shrieked. Liam bit his lip and looked down, feeling guilty.

Louis ripped the door open, letting wind whip through the corridor, then leapt out to edge of the railing again.

“Louis, what the hell are you doing?!” Liam scolded as he lunged forward and brought his arms around his torso to pull him back.

“Looking for my football, what do you think I'm doing?” Louis retorted as he struggled against him.

“Get back inside!” Liam grunted as he fought to pull him back.

Louis dishearteningly watched the train station get smaller and smaller as the tracks blurred together. He curled back his hands and stood up straight.

"Well, that's bloody fantastic!" He kicked at the wall of the train car.

Liam kept his eyes down, not sure what to say. "At least we made it onto the train in time...”

"That's all you care about, isn't it? Hey—you jumped after me!” Louis narrowed his eyes up at Liam. “Did you see that my ball had fallen out of my rucksack and you just decided not to say anything?"

Liam sighed, "Well, I might have seen it fall from the corner of my eye..."

"You bastard! You could have grabbed it, then."

"No, because I had to grab _you_ , Louis! To get onto the train before it left without us!" Liam argued.

"Biglietti!" Two official-looking men approached Liam and Louis, looking very angry.

Luckily, all they wanted to see were Liam and Louis's train tickets, and the two weren't penalised for an unauthorised and potentially illegal boarding onto the train. Afterwards, Louis shoved past Liam without another word and stomped through the train car corridor.

"Louis, look on the bright side. At least it's one less thing you have to worry about," Liam offered as he sped-walked to catch up to him.

"How about I just drop you onto the rails as well, then?" Louis snapped as he froze in his steps. "One less thing for me to worry about."

Liam frowned. "Look, I'm sorry about your football—"

"Save it, Payne! World's full of footballs—and when we win this competition, I'll have enough money to buy a thousand of them." Hostility glimmered in his cold, blue eyes, and Liam backed off, letting Louis sit by himself on the window aisle.

Liam later tried to diffuse the situation once they successfully boarded their plane (which got delayed by twenty minutes) and settled into their seats.

"Louis, for the last time, I'm sorry," Liam said, his thick eyebrows turned up at the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not sure this will be the last time." Louis sent him a hard stare through his aviator sunglasses.

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you the one who said not to get stroppy if things didn't go quite right?"

Louis wheezed out a sarcastic laugh as he turned to Liam. "That was for you!"

Liam flatly pursed his lips. Well, this was hypocritic...hypocritical? Whatever, Louis was being a hypocrite!

"I've only had five hours of sleep, I've got a nasty hangover, it's bright as fuck out, making my headache worse, and to top it off, I've lost the only material possession that matters to me," Louis continued in a petulant tone. "So I think I've a reasonable excuse for feeling a bit put-out."

"Reasonable?" Liam scoffed. "The only _reason_ you're even feeling put-out is your own doing. No one forced you to get drunk and stay out until three in the morning. No one forced you to bring your football on this race, either."

"But I _was_ forced to be your partner," Louis sneered.

Liam set his mouth into a frown. Well, he had a point there.

 

\----

Marrakech had a dry heat, a slight breeze not helpful in the late afternoon, since it only brought warm dust into any uncovered surface of Louis and Liam's skin. Their first challenge took them to a bazaar with their travelling packs still on, since they had not stopped anywhere before meeting their contact in Djemma el Fna square. Omar, a curly-haired man dressed in a white polo shirt and olive green cargo shorts, was identifiable by the bright blue flag he was holding and the cameraman next to him.

"The bazaar is one of the greatest attractions in Marrakech. You will find all kinds of goods, artwork, handmade crafts, and foods that Morocco has to offer. Your challenge today is to find and buy all the items on this list." Omar handed Louis a slip of paper with ten items on it. “You have no time limit, though it would be best to get done before dark. Good luck.”

The labyrinth of the bazaar was very crowded, loud, and people kept shoving into Liam, which made him worry about getting pick-pocketed, though Louis was the one with their money right now. Apart from this, the market intrigued Liam; it was an amazing sight—all the colours in the spectrum were present, in beautiful handmade jewelery, purses, hats, clothing, artwork, rugs, pots, and lanterns all of different colours. Food that Liam had never seen before in his life was on display, the tantalizing smells of grilled meat filling his nose and tempting his stomach as he walked past. Many people there were brown-skinned and dressed in head scarves, veils, and long sleeved, body-length tunics and dresses. Liam had never been in an environment like this, where he felt like a bit of an outsider—as a white young man in his LA Lakers snapback, black vest top and acid wash jeans.

Louis had been ignoring Liam since their flight, and led off without consulting him. Liam had to steal glances at the list just to make sure they were doing their challenge properly. The list included spices, coin purses, a few pottery items, and jarred fruit that altogether cost under 300 Dirham, though haggling was involved, so Liam wasn't sure if every price they paid was the true value.

"Now that you've bought everything on that list, it is time to deliver it on this bike," said Omar after Liam and Louis met up with him again. He patted the seat of a rusty red bike he held just in front of him. It looked very old, the pedals mismatched in design and shape, the handle bars didn't even have grips on them, and the leather seat was slightly torn. “Take the map with you and an updated list of where these items are supposed to be delivered. Only one of you can do this challenge, so discuss and decide who—”

"I'll do it," Liam interjected.

Louis whipped his head to face Liam. "That's rather gallant of you, Liam—"

"I don't trust that you can carry all of the items on your back without getting tired. So I'm doing it," Liam curtly replied.

Louis's jaw slightly opened in indignation.

"Okay,” Omar nodded. He helped Liam pack a large rucksack with all the items, careful not to damage the fragile pottery.

Liam settled himself onto the rickety bike and tucked his cap tight onto his head, flattening a bit of his hair at the front.

“Look at the strong lad you are," Louis patronisingly remarked as he tapped at the handle bars. “And you _love_ your maps, so this should be easy for you, right?”

Liam shortly glanced over to him. “Let's hope so.”

He looked at the list and map, and pedalled off to his first stop, with a cameraman following him on a much nicer bike. His was a terrible thing to ride, that creaked and had no brakes, and barely responded to his legs, so he had to put in twice the normal effort just to make it go up any slope, no matter how low of a grade it was. All the delivery points were within a five mile radius, so he didn't have to travel far, but with the heat, the heavy traffic, and the heavy pack on his back, Liam started to get tired only three stops into his challenge.

By the time he got to his last delivery point, which was hard to find because it was located in a skinny alley with no actual address marker, Liam's muscles were aching, and sweat irritated his brow and fell down the centre of his back. He felt like he was getting baked like a potato in the sun and the 35°C heat. But he just wanted to finish the challenge, so he willed the burning muscles in his thighs and shoulders to take him back to the meeting point without having to stop.

Omar applauded as Liam approached the middle of Djemma el Fna square. Louis held a gaze on him as he kept his arms crossed. After Liam brought the bike to a stop, he almost stumbled off of the bike seat, his hands feeling raw from how tight he had gripped the bars over the last quarter hour.

"All right?" Louis asked as he walked up to him.

"Yeah, I think so," Liam breathed out.

"Good!" Louis said as he roughly slapped a hand onto Liam's back. Liam hissed and bristled at the sting. Louis grimaced at his sweat-soaked hand, then decided to wipe it on the fabric of Liam's rucksack. If Liam wasn't so tired, he might have wanted to slap Louis back.

“Congratulations, you two!” Omar cheered. “Here is your next destination and the itinerary. Here are the details for your hotel, too. Enjoy the rest of your night here in Marrakech.”

“Where are we going?” Louis asked as Liam took the envelope and opened it.

“Cancun. Mexico,” Liam gasped.

“Get in!” Louis crowed.

Liam weakly grinned, then placed his hands on his hips as he tried to compose himself. He turned around and noticed a lad with bright blond hair near the edge of the bazaar, who was taking small rocks out of his shoe. Liam peered closer and saw the undershade of brown hair on the lad's head. It couldn't be...

"Niall?" Liam called out.

The blond lad looked up and put his foot down. "Payno!" he cheered in delight as he soon as he spotted Liam.

They ran up to each other and Liam let himself collapse into Niall's embrace, partially because he was still exhausted, but mostly because he was so glad to see him, he could cry.

“What are you doing here?!” Niall asked with a wide grin as he squeezed Liam's back.

“This was our stop!” Liam replied as he grabbed a handful of Niall's hair and ruffled it.

“No way! Me and Stacey got here earlier today, too. You already do your challenge?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, just finished it. You?”

“Eh, we failed,” Niall giggled. “Have to wait 'til morning to do our next one.”

“Oh, that's too bad,” Liam replied with a sympathetic stare. “Where's your partner?”

“Oh, Stacey? She's doin' some shopping right now in the bazaar. I was just coming back from the toilets.”

At that moment, Liam heard footsteps approach from behind him. It was Louis.

“Oi, it's the Irish lad! Wearing a Derby County shirt!” he addressed to Niall, who was wearing a burgundy t-shirt folded at the sleeves with a white Derby County Ram emblem over his heart.

Niall considered Louis seriously for a second, then grinned. “Yeah, I love Derby! You a fan?”

Louis laughed. “Well, wouldn't call myself a fan, but they're a decent team. I go for my home team, Doncaster Rovers.”

“Donny, eh? I think I went to a Donny match last year,” Niall replied.

“Really?”

“Yeah, 'gainst Derby. We beat you, two to one,” Niall smugly grinned.

Louis's eyes widened. “Seriously? I think I must have been at that match!”

Niall and Louis discovered that it had been the same exact match they attended, and then they moved on to talking about the Premier League. Liam didn't really catch onto the conversation, seeing as he knew little about the current state of football, other than the handful of times he's watched matches on the telly this past year.

“Right, you go to uni in Leeds?” Louis cut in at one point. “Me and Zayn go to uni in Horsforth.”

“Shut up! That's so close!” Niall turned to Liam. “Small world, eh Payno?”

“Fancy that...” Liam muttered.

“Liam, you sure you're all right? You look terrible!” Niall laughed. Louis chuckled as well.

“Well, he did just finish that challenge. Didn't even let me argue against him being the one to do it. What a swell guy, am I right?” Louis had been staring into Liam's eyes as he said all that. Liam wondered what that was about...

“Oh, I tried to do it, too. But the bike chain broke when I was goin' up a hill,” Niall explained. “Bleedin' piece o' junk, that bike was.”

“You didn't hurt yourself, did you?” Liam asked, looking up and down Niall's body to see if any signs of injury showed in his gait.

Niall laughed. “I'm all good, Liam!”

“This one's always worrying, isn't he?” Louis remarked.

“You been worryin' about Louis as well, Liam?” Niall teased.

“No, of course not!” Liam blurted out.

Louis gave him a flat look and a tilt of his head. He cleared his throat, then swung an arm over Niall's shoulder. “So Niall... Tell me, what is going on with your hair? Are you a blond? Are you a brunette? Change your mind halfway though? What happened there?”

Liam internally groaned at this teasing. It was one thing for Louis to take the piss out of him, but to go after Niall was—

“Hahahahaha!” Niall's boisterous laugh interrupted Liam's worrisome thoughts. “I guess I got the best o' both worlds!” Niall looked down at Louis's right arm. “Now, you tell me—how much did you pay the third-graders to scribble all over your arm? And how's that compass been workin' for ya?”

Louis laughed almost as loud as Niall. “I like this lad—he knows how to joke!” His eyes gleamed in delight.

Niall turned back to Liam, and beckoned him with an arm. “Oi, Liam, we should all go out to dinner! You in?”

 

Liam and Louis stayed with Niall until Stacey met up with them, her arms adorned with colourful handmade bracelets. They all took a petit taxi to Liam and Louis's hotel and had dinner at a nearby restaurant called Chez Mehdi. It still intrigued Liam that many people spoke French in Marrakech. It had never occurred to him to wonder what language they spoke in Morocco, and he wasn't previously aware of the predominant Islamic culture. Today was truly the first time he felt culture shock—but instead of intimidating him, it made him excited to learn about more foreign cultures.

The main course dishes comprised of tajine, lamb, bread, and couscous—upon which Louis felt necessary to comment, “The food so nice, they named it twice!” Which got Niall pounding on the table with a fist as he laughed, and Niall's laugh is infectious, so everyone at the table broke into laughter.

Halfway through dinner, Niall struck up a conversation with the young Spanish couple sitting at the table next to them. He had first asked them if they had been here before and if there were any sights that they recommended. The couple, Leo and Amara, were eager to give Niall pointers and claimed to love Marrakech so much they made a trip every year. After they finished eating, Leo and Amara offered to take them all to a club in Hivernage, the district notorious for its swanky nightlife.

Louis was surprised that Liam agreed so easily, but with Niall, going out was different. Niall didn't pressure Liam into drinking and literally any time he spent with him was a good time. And it's not like Liam hates clubs, he loves music and likes to dance—though he wouldn't really call himself a good dancer, he's got a few moves.

The club they went to was a hole-in-the-wall dig that looked shabby on the outside, but was modernised on the inside with lighting lasers and newly upholstered furniture. The DJ played mostly Moroccan and Arabic music—although Liam couldn't understand the lyrics, he liked the melodies and the beats—and everyone in the party was dancing and having a great time. That is, until everyone apart from Liam started getting drunk.

Louis, ever so generous with his travel budget, offered to buy another round of drinks for everyone after they'd all sat down to take a break from dancing. If he hadn't already been a hit with everyone because of the way he'd been making them laugh all night, he sure clinched his place in their good graces now.

“Liam, what do you want?” Louis had to shout over the loud music.

“Oh, um, nothing for me,” Liam responded with an adamant shake of his head.

Louis flattened his eyes. “Come on, Liam!”

“Really, I'm fine!” Liam shouted.

Louis narrowed his eyes at Liam before he turned around to go to the bar. A couple minutes later, one of the bartenders came by with a tray of glasses and everyone cheered and downed each of their own drinks as Liam awkwardly sat and smiled.

Louis moseyed over to the end of the table where Liam was sat, then slapped an arm across his shoulder. "How is it that you're best mates with an Irish bloke and you don't even drink?"

"Well I don't not drink," Liam protested, feeling uncomfortable under the weight of Louis's arm on his upper back. "I go out for the occasional pint."

Louis snorted. "Yeah, a pint of Mummy's apple cider, I'm sure."

Liam glared at him. "Just because I'm not getting plastered at a club doesn't mean I don't ever drink. Of course, I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand that."

"Come on, Payno, lighten up! He was just takin' the piss!" Niall affectionately bumped Liam's shoulder.

"Yeah, Payno. Take a joke, will you?" Louis said as he bumped Liam's other shoulder.

Liam sent a hard look at Louis. "You're not allowed to call me Payno."

Louis chuckled. "Oh, pardon me! You know, maybe I should just call you Payne-in-the-arse, cos it seems like you've always got something up there!” He lost his grin. “Really, though, what _is_ up your arse? This whole time, you've just been... I don't know. It's like you don't know how to have fun! You're so serious all the time, doesn't it get exhausting?" He turned to Niall. "You know, we all went out dancing and gallivanting around Rome and all this bloke did was stay at the hostel!"

"'s that true, Liam?" Niall asked, his brow furrowed a bit in concern.

Liam darted his eyes from Louis to Niall. "No, actually. I did go out last night."

"When?" Louis asked, indignant expression on his brow.

"Just a bit after you left. Saw myself the Trevi Fountain, had a panino. It was great." Liam pertly raised his eyebrows.

"So... you do like to go out, but just by yourself? Liam, why are you so weird?" Louis asked with a hard stare. He wasn't laughing this time. Neither was anyone else.

Liam felt his heart pound under the judging stares of everyone around that small booth, waiting for him to answer that question. He glanced down at the table, then sharply exhaled. "You know what? I think I've spent enough time here. I'm going back to the hotel.” He stood up, feeling a warm itch at the corners of his eyes.

"Liam, wait! Come back!" Niall moaned in a drunken drawl. "I only have one more night to spend with ya!"

"I'm sorry, Niall," Liam replied with a shake his head.

He had to get out of there before he completely lost it, so he sped-walked before he could hear another word. He felt stupid for feeling like he wanted to cry. But it was like high school all over again, with the peer pressure and the jokes about him, and the way that he felt like he was in friendless territory, even with Niall there—who for some reason seemed to love Louis. Those two were getting on like they were old friends, to the point that even Niall was defending Louis against Liam.

Or maybe it was just something wrong with him. What if Louis wasn't the problem at all? Maybe it was something wrong with Liam that always pushed people away...

After half a minute of trying to move through the crowd congesting the space in between the wall and the bar, Liam felt fingers sharply dig into his shoulders. He whipped around within the small space he had and saw that it was Louis. He still had a drink in one hand as he kept his other hand clamped onto Liam's shoulder.

Liam huffed out in exasperation. "What more do you have to say, Louis?"

"I'm sorry if I offended you!" Louis yelled over the loud music. "But don't take it out on your mate! I'll leave!"

Liam blinked. Louis looked sincere for once.

Liam shook his head. "No, that's all right. Niall quite likes you, anyway. I think he'd have more fun with you than me."

Louis pursed his lip and put his free hand on his hip. "Well, of course he would! Anyone would! But he's your best mate, isn't he?"

Liam looked back toward Niall and the others. Niall was staring at him like a sad puppy, hanging his head low over the glass table top. There was almost nothing worse in this world than seeing an unhappy Niall.

Liam sighed, then turned back to Louis. "Fine. I'll stay."

"Brilliant!" Louis smirked and pushed his glass of liquor into Liam's hand. “Here. Wind down a little, mate."

Liam gave him a dark stare. "I'm fine, thanks."

Louis scrunched his mouth in frustration. "It's just one bloody drink! It's not going to kill you to relax a little!"

Liam looked back toward Niall, who still had an apprehensive look on his face as he waited to see if his best mate was coming back.

"All right," Liam sighed as he took the glass, and sipped. It tasted a bit spicy and his throat burned.

"Ugh, what is this?" he coughed.

"I'm not sure!" Louis laughed as he patted him on the back.

As they slowly made their way back to their party's table, Liam tentatively sipped the drink, which still hadn't tasted better by the fifth sip. When Louis wasn't watching, he tucked it into a niche between booths without finishing it.

The rest of the night, the conversation did not revert to Liam, nor did he get involved much in the conversation, except to smile and laugh when Niall said something funny. But even though they were sitting together and laughing and enjoying the music, he felt a bit disconnected. Although Louis had apologised, he still felt uneasy because it wasn't just Louis—he hardly knew Stacey, Leo, and Amara, but they all seemed to show the same disdain for Liam's more “straight-edge” preferences. It was annoying. He didn't like the idea that he'd have to drink just to hang out with his best mate, especially around people who didn't matter.

Of course, he didn't show this because cameras were still right there. Millions of people were going to watch this, expecting to be entertained. Great.

 

"I am going to miss you so much, Leemo," Niall said after their entire group had left the club and stood outside waiting for taxis.

"I'll miss you too, Nialler," Liam said as he pulled him close for a hug, and partially so he didn't sway onto the road.

"I'm sorry if you didn't have a good time tonight.”

"Don't be ridiculous. It was fun," Liam assured him with a smile.

Niall tightened his lip and bent his head down as he raised an eyebrow at Liam. "I know you're just saying that to make me feel better."

Liam shook his head and forced out a laugh. "Really, Niall! Any time I spend with you is a great time! I had fun."

"You're not upset? I feel awful, you know, for what Louis was sayin' earlier... an' for not sayin' anything about it." Niall hunched his shoulders low as he looked down at the ground.

Liam looked down and shook his head. "No, I'm all right. I mean, I _am_ a weirdo."

Niall's brows turned up, and for a second, Liam thought he might start to cry. Then he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Liam's neck. "You're my weirdo! And no one else gets to call you weird 'cept me. Got that? I should've whacked Louis meself when he said that."

The edge of Liam's lips curved into a grin. It was good to know that Niall was still on his side.

"You still like him, though, don't you? You two got on real well today," Liam told him.

Niall tilted his head. "Yeah, he's a fun bloke, when he's not being an arse. Actually, sometimes even when he is!" He laughed.

Stacey had just crossed the pavement to come up to them and was looking a bit pale. "Niall, I'm so sorry I threw up on your shoes. I'll buy you some new ones, 'kay?"

Niall shook his head. "S'alright, Stace! Happens!"

Stacey smiled as she walked forward, then stumbled a bit on the uneven cement. Liam was quick enough to lunge and grab her around the waist before she collapsed.

"My hero," Stacey exclaimed, although her breath still had a slightly rancid odour to it from all her puking. Liam managed to smile despite this.

"Is she okay?" It was Louis who had asked, looking seriously concerned, his forehead wrinkled into several lines.

"I'm great!” Stacey replied. “Just need to change my clothes, ugh, gross.”

At that second, a white taxi van had just pulled up to the dusty curb, which Liam immediately ushered Niall and Stacey into. “Here you go, Nialler! Safe travels. Drink lots of fluids, Stacey!"

"Goodnight, Liam! Goodnight Louis!" both Niall and Stacey called from inside the taxi.

They were at a different hotel from Liam and Louis, so after they left, it was just Liam and Louis waiting alone on the pavement. Neither spoke a word to each other, and Liam didn't mind. He was exhausted with Louis, all the bickering, having to spend nearly every single minute of every day with him. He imagined that Louis was just as exasperated. He only hoped that the rest of the journey would go by quickly, all the sooner to be rid of each other.

 

\----

Their morning flight from Marrakech took Liam and Louis to a connection at Miami International Airport before they would finally set off to Cancun. At this point, they had still hardly spoken to each other all day. It was only when Liam realised that they were cutting close to their departure time from Miami that he finally broke the silence.

"We should hurry," he said after he waited for Louis to get through the Customs desk.

"Why?" Louis asked.

"We've got fifteen minutes to make the boarding time for our flight.” Liam looked down at his watch to make sure.

"Can we get something to eat first?" Louis sighed with a frown.

"First we have to get to our terminal. This is a bit confusing, it says our gate is E5 and we're in the North Terminal—and I think it's rather far—"

"Liam, I'm fucking starving! Can't we just stop and get something to eat right now?" Louis snapped.

"We'll probably get food on the plane," Liam argued as he looked around for any signs pointing them in the right direction.

"I don't want to wait until I get on the plane—it'll be an hour at the least before we can even eat. I'll fucking drop dead by then."

Liam sighed. "Well, maybe—"

"Harry! Why didn't you wake me?!" someone with a distinctly Northern English accent shouted as they stomped through the corridor past Liam and Louis.

"You looked so peaceful!" a morbid, out-of-breath voice replied.

"Zayn?" Louis questioned with a crease on his brow as he stared behind Liam.

Liam whipped his head round and saw the backs of two young men sprinting in the opposite direction with large packs on their backs. One of them had curly brown hair with a blue scarf wrapped around his head. The other had a mop of black hair that bounced up and down as he ran, his black combat boots stomping loudly against the linoleum of the floor.

"We're goin' to be late for this flight, too! Dammit, Harry!"

"I'm sorry, Zayn!" Harry shouted, looking not so childish for once, the way his brow was furrowed, his jaw clenched tight as he frowned at Zayn, who was looking slightly less immaculate, with dark circles under his eyes, his hair dishevelled, and his beard a lot scruffier than Liam remembered.

"That was Zayn and his new partner!" Louis pointed out. "Let's go meet up with them!"

Liam bent his eyebrows in perplexity. "Louis, we don't have time!"

"You got to see Niall all day yesterday—What's wrong if I go after Zayn to just say hi?" Louis began to stalk off, but Liam quickly stepped forward and grabbed his arm. Louis narrowed his eyes and shoved at Liam's chest.

"They're in a hurry as well," Liam replied as he stepped close to Louis, noticing for once just how much taller he was than Louis, who was forced to tilt his chin up just to look him in the eye.

"Fuck—fine!" Louis snapped as he shoved Liam's shoulder to get past him.

After they boarded the plane (with five minutes to spare) and sat waiting for the plane to properly take off, Louis's stomach kept rumbling loudly. He breathed in and out of his mouth with shallow exhales as he stared up to the cabin roof.

"If I die of starvation, it's your fault," he muttered to Liam—who was forced to take the aisle seat after Louis had elbowed ahead of him to jump into the window seat.

Liam rolled his eyes. "We don't even have American money on us at the moment. I would have liked to see you try and pay in Pesos."

"That's what currency exchange boxes are for, Liam! It's as if you've forgotten we just dropped in at an international airport!"

"You still wouldn't have had enough time to do that, buy something, and then make our flight on time."

"And apparently, making it to your flight on time is more important than your race partner dying. Are all firefighters this compassionate, or is it just you?"

"Don't worry—if you pass out or go into cardiac arrest from your starvation, I'll be sure to notify a flight attendant," Liam bitterly joked.

Louis glared at him. "You're a bit of an arsehole, you know that?"

"Me? What about you? You're the one—"

"Please pay attention to the safety instruction demonstration," a flight attendant warned Liam and Louis.

"Pay attention to the flight attendant, please, Liam," Louis told him with a raise of his eyebrows as he pinched the skin on the back of Liam's hand.

Liam winced as his hand flinched in pain. Louis shot a smug look toward the flight attendant who was displaying the location of the emergency exits with his hands up in the air.

Liam closed his eyes and slowly breathed in and out. He tried to remember how many more checkpoints and days they had left of this competition.

How many more days he would have to endure Louis...

 

After their four-hour flight landed—which was essentially a four-hour game of who can elbow each other off the shared armrest by the end of the flight without speaking actual words to each other—it was already dark in Cancun. A shuttle and a new camera crew picked up Liam and Louis from the airport and took them to a beachfront hotel. They were too tired from their day-long voyage to bicker at each other and both of them immediately knocked out.

In the morning, they were woken up by the camera crew and Liam was excited to see the view from their window. The Caribbean sea tide was still a bit high for the late morning, and down below was a pool and spa area with palm trees and small, white curtained tents everywhere.

He and Louis were taken by a shuttle to a private dock, where a small boat picked them up and took them out to the middle of the sea. They were advised to bring their travelling bags to the challenge, which was a bit odd, since they had a hotel already.

After half an hour, they finally stopped at a rickety looking dock on a small island, half submerged in the water. Next to it were lines of rope and netting fixed into a large square in the semi-shallow water. A woman with honey-brown hair in a white blouse and jean shorts greeted them on the dock.

“Hello, Liam and Louis! My name is Camila. We are now at the stage of the race where you are able to receive an Express Pass. The Express Pass allows you to catch a same-day flight to your next destination. But the challenge you have to complete in order to get the Express Pass will be a bit more difficult than regular challenges.”

“Well, let's hear it! What do we have to do?” Louis asked as he clapped his hands together.

“Your objective is to collect six tiles submerged and hidden in this pool.” She pointed to the square of netting. “The tiles will spell out your next destination. But only one of you will be able to be in the pool at a time and you can only take one tile out at a time. To get the Express Pass, you must complete this challenge in one minute.”

“One minute,” Louis repeated as he nodded.

“Oh, and one more thing—this pool contains four nurse sharks and several other small, harmless sea creatures—well, don't let the crabs pinch you,” Camila added with a smile.

“Sharks?” Liam exclaimed with widened eyes. He glanced to Louis, who looked just as shocked as him.

“Don't worry, nurse sharks are gentle creatures, but it might be best to avoid bumping into them.”

“How sharp are the teeth on these things?” Louis sputtered. “And how big?”

Camila giggled. “Nurse sharks are bottom feeders and are known to rarely bite, and a caretaker will be right in the pool with you, in case anything happens.”

“Oh, lovely!” Louis remarked with a bend of his eyebrow.

He and Liam changed into swimming shorts—red bermuda shorts in Louis's case and blue basketball shorts in Liam's—and took off their mics and t-shirts. Louis looked down into the square where they were supposed to swim. Liam followed his gaze and swallowed as he saw shadows move beneath the surface.

Sharks... He never imagined he'd ever have to swim in a pool with sharks. But if this gives him and Louis the edge in the race, then of course he's going to do it.

He closed his eyes and breathed. “Throw off the bowlines...”

“What was that?” Louis asked as he turned to him.

“Nothing.” Liam cleared his throat. “Um, you ready for this?”

“Yeah... Sharks, who's scared of sharks?” Louis nervously laughed.

“I'll go in first,” Liam offered. Louis quickly nodded in return.

Once Camila started the clock, Liam jumped in. Luckily the water was clear, and the tiles were a bright yellow and tucked between pieces of reef. He went down for the deepest tile he saw, then boosted himself back to the surface. Louis jumped in as soon as he got out, and resurfaced in only five seconds. Their relay went smoothly and the sharks were at the back of Liam's mind. He watched the clock as Louis went in for the last tile. They were at 48 seconds. That meant twelve more seconds to get the Express Pass.

“Come on, Louis...” Liam softly cheered.

51, 52, 53...

Louis's head broke from the surface of the water and he rapidly sloshed over to the dock with the tile stretched out in his hand.

“Fifty-six seconds!” Camila called out.

“Oh, get in!” Louis cheered as he slammed a fist in the water.

Liam breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled down at him. “We did it!” he cheered as Louis climbed back up to the dock.

"Gentlemen... you've done it!” Camilla exclaimed. “Congratulations, here's the Express Pass! And if you paid attention to the tiles, they spell out Dallas, as in Texas! Boys, you're going to the States! Here's your itinerary.”

Louis grabbed the blue envelope. “Texas!”

Liam felt so happy he could jump up and down. He'd just swam into a pool of sharks—so what if they were bottom feeders—and they just got the Express Pass! He looked over at Louis, who had a wide grin on his dripping wet face. As soon as Louis caught his eye, he faltered a bit as he moved the soaking fringe against his forehead.

“Your flight leaves at nine o'clock tonight, and we have asked you to bring your travelling bags because when you return to Cancun, a shuttle will be waiting to take you to the airport right away,” Camila continued. “But for right now, this ferry will take you to the island Cozumel. The return trip to Cancun isn't until five o'clock, so enjoy yourselves for the rest of the day, and good luck in the States.” She waved goodbye as the lads got back onto the boat.

"Hey... Good work back there," Liam told Louis.

"Oh, you're complimenting me now?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just... I'm really happy we beat that challenge so quickly and, um, thanks, I guess. For being a solid teammate back there."

"Thanks for not screwing up either, Payne." Louis gave him what looked like a genuine smile.

\----

At Cozumel, Liam, Louis, and three other boatloads of tourists on the beach were treated to an all-you-can-eat lunch of chicken, rice, tostones, and other traditional Mexican and Caribbean dishes.

“Can't believe how good all this food is! This is so much better than the places they have back home!” Louis moaned with his mouth full.

Liam laughed. “I feel like this is the best meal we've had this whole trip!”

Just then, the camera woman zoomed in close to Liam's face, and his smile faltered. The other cameraman was behind Liam, with his lens pointed at Louis.

“Can you two just sod off?” Louis complained as he glared at their new camera team.

Liam's eyes widened. He had been thinking the same thing, but would never think to say that out loud to them.

“We're just doing our job,” the woman protested.

“Well, our challenge is already done. And after swimming in a tank with fucking sharks, I'd like to relax now—and I can't relax if you two buggers are in my face and making everyone else on this beach stare at us!” Louis snapped.

“Really—you two should relax as well!” Liam quickly added. “We'll all meet up at the boat later, anyway. Nothing interesting is going to happen here.”

To Liam's surprise, the cameraman and woman complied and left with exchanged shrugs. Louis tugged at his arm. “Great diffusing of the situation, Liam! Now let's get as far away from them as possible!”

Louis ran through the white sand with Liam in tow until they got half a mile out onto that stretch of coast, which was a bit nicer, considering less people were at this section than where they were previously sitting. After they both dropped their packs in the powdery sand, Liam surveyed his surroundings and wistfully smiled. He took out his camera and snapped a picture of the coastline along the turquoise water.

“It's good to see you enjoying yourself for once, Payne! Didn't know you had it in you to relax...” Louis raised a wiggling eyebrow at him from his seat on the ground.

Liam smirked. “You really think I can't have fun?”

“No, I really don't,” Louis answered with a shake of his head.

"You go ahead and just watch me!” Liam pointed an index finger at him as he bent his brow in determination. “I'm about to go in that water and have the greatest fun of my life!”

Louis choked out a laugh.

Liam faltered. "But we can't just leave the bags here unattended, can we?"

“I'll watch them!” Louis replied as he leant back onto his palms.

“Are you sure? You're not going to leave—”

"Liam—Go out there and enjoy yourself. You deserve a bit of loosening up," Louis urged with a raise of his eyebrows. “I promise I'll watch our bags. Won't take my eyes off of them.”

"Okay." Liam kept a guarded look until he turned to face the sea.

He walked out to the shallow waves and didn't have to spend a second adjusting to the temperature. He had never been in water this naturally warm or clear. It was perfect. He could swear he saw tiny fish and crabs at the bottom of the floor, which was soft against Liam's feet. The waves were gentle right now, and maybe it wasn't too great for surfing, but it was nice just to lie out and float on his back to get carried by the slow-moving current. Nothing else existed, not even sound, except for the faint rise and fall of waves into one another and the breeze that slightly ruffled the coconut-bearing palm trees on the shore. It was so beautiful here, and Liam can't remember the last time he felt so relaxed. He must have spent an hour out there, wading in the waves, letting the warm sun and the water fill his spirit.

He was just so happy.

After Liam decided to return to the beach, he noticed several young men playing football in the sand, not too far from where he and Louis left their packs. He looked closer and noted that one of them was Louis. Liam walked over to their packs and sank down into the sand as he watched him play.

He never noticed how fit Louis was. His torso was lean, the tattoo under his collar bone framing the nicely sculpted shape of his chest. His shorts rode up his thighs as he ran and kicked up at the football, his quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves flexed in action. He was in a completely different element. Focused, intent, and flawlessly kicking up the football from his toe to his knee and up his chest before he bounced it off to another teammate. The sand on his limbs and on his chest glistened, likening him to some kind of Greek sun god.

Louis glanced shortly in Liam's direction. Liam flushed and quickly glanced away, hoping Louis hadn't noticed how he had been practically ogling him. He decided to make himself busy and grabbed his pack to search for his camera. Only—

That's odd. He could have sworn that he closed his pack's zip all the way to the left. It was a habit he had picked up a few years ago and never seemed to drop. He opened up the pack, and growing paranoid, Liam decided to make sure that his wallet and passport were still where he left them. His camera was still there in its case, and his brass watch was still where he left it, tucked into a pair of socks.

But there was no sign of the burgundy booklet or his brown leather wallet.

"No, no, no..." Liam moaned as his heartbeat tripled in its rate.

He emptied the entire contents of his pack, disregarding the mess he was making—but found nothing. He moved onto Louis's and did the same. Louis's passport and wallet weren't there, either.

Half a minute later, Louis skipped up to Liam, who was still trying not to throw up or have his heart explode from how fast it was beating.

"Have a good swim out there, Payne?" Louis cheerfully asked.

Liam remained silent as he looked up at Louis.

Louis's grin dropped. "What's wrong?"

Liam shortly glanced down, then looked back up at him with a sigh. "Louis, please tell me you put our wallets somewhere safe—or that you have yours on you."

"No, I didn't take them out. Why...?" Louis's forehead creased in concern.

Liam exhaled an exasperated sigh as he thrust down the rucksack. "They're gone. Our wallets and our passports are gone. Louis, I thought you were going to watch our stuff!"

"I was not more than five metres away from them the whole time—I kept my eye on them!" Louis defended.

"Well, clearly, you didn't! Now our passports are gone and all our money is gone! Just perfect!" Liam's rapid breathing was not getting any easier.

Louis's face dropped. "Liam, I'm sorry, I—"

"Just save it," Liam snapped. "It was just as much my fault. For trusting you with this. Ha, why did I _ever_ think I could trust you?"

Louis knitted his brows together. "Oh, fuck off with your bloody self righteous attitude already!"

Liam glanced up quickly to see Louis ball his hands into fists.

"Since the day we met, you've been nothing but an uptight, condescending arse! You think you're so perfect—oh, why? Because you're a firefighter, because you don't drink, because you like to plan bloody itineraries and stay alone in your room instead of have fun—and you think this makes you better than me?"

Liam felt his face grow hot. He didn't know how to respond to this. But he knew that Louis was just turning the conversation around on him. He stood up and kicked sand everywhere as he stomped up to Louis.

"Well, what about you? 'Listen to me, then we'll win'—well, so far every time I've listened to you, we've either failed a challenge or it became doubly harder to get wherever we were headed—and oh yeah, now we're stranded on an island in the middle of the Caribbean because _you_ let someone steal our passports and our wallets—and incidentally, all our money!"

Louis rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. "First of all, it's not the 'middle of the Caribbean'—we're still in Mexico, so we're on the edge of the Caribbean, more like! And second of all, are you done crying?"

Liam let his mouth hang slightly open as he narrowed his eyes at Louis. "Do you not feel guilty in the slightest about this situation?"

"Apparently you're _not_ done crying..." Louis exhaled. "Listen, Payne, I would love to have you bombard me with hours of insults—which I'm sure would not be difficult for you—but we've got to deal with our little problem first. Let's get going."

Louis bent down and picked out a white t-shirt from his rucksack and slipped it on over his head.

Liam blinked as he just stood there. "Where are you going?"

Louis held his arms out to the side as he shrugged. "To the authorities, of course! Unless you have a better idea, _firefighter_." He snatched up his rucksack and stalked off without waiting for Liam.

Liam kept his mouth shut and slipped on his sandals. He followed Louis's lead until they got to a nearby boating and bait shop a bit inland from the beach.

"Excuse me, can you help us?” Louis asked the attendant at the register.

The dark, slight man at the counter shook his head. "No puedo t'ayudar. No hablo inglés. Don't speak English."

"Do you know any Spanish?" Louis asked Liam.

"Very little," Liam answered.

"Well, whip it out, mate!" Louis roughly clapped a hand on his back. Liam narrowed his eyes at Louis, then turned back to the attendant.

Liam swallowed. "Um... nosotros," he pointed between him and Louis. "Uh... got robbed," he pulled his pockets inside out, "...todo dinero y pasaportes?"

The attendant creased his forehead in confusion. "Lo siento, amigo, pero... don't know how to help."

"Uh... Policia?" Louis questioned.

"Ah!" The attendant nodded and bent down to look for something behind the counter.

Louis pointedly raised his eyebrows to Liam.

The attendant stood back up holding a map of San Miguel, the main city on the island of Cozumel. He spoke very quickly and all Liam could really pick up from it was where the police station was located—which the attendant clearly marked with a black Sharpie pen.

"Muchas gracias," Louis added with a benevolent purse of his lips.

As they walked back to the tree lined path, Liam studied the map. "According to this, the police station is about five kilometres from here. Shit, our boat leaves at five o'clock." He looked down at his watch. It was half three.

"Should we run to the police station then?" Louis asked with a laugh.

"This is all just a mess," Liam exhaled as he ran a hand through his hair.

"We'll work through this, Liam. It's not the end of the world," Louis replied.

"No, we're just stuck in Mexico without our passports or money and neither of us can speak Spanish to save our lives!"

"It could be worse," Louis pointed an index finger in the air.

Liam shot a narrow-eyed look at him. "No. Don't you dare say that. You'll probably end up jinxing us."

Louis squinted his eyes at Liam. "Because everything that goes wrong is my fault?"

Liam swallowed, not knowing what to say as he looked away from Louis.

"In that case, it can't possibly get worse!” Louis boomed out. “Nothing else could make this day any more unpleasant than it is now!"

Liam looked around, wincing as if something disastrous were to happen.

Louis chuckled as he put his hands on his hips. "What are you gawking about for? Were you expecting lightning to come out of the sky and strike you?"

"Wouldn't have surprised me," Liam muttered with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Let's just get on to the police station. We're wasting time bickering here.”

As Liam walked along with Louis on the trail that was supposed to lead to town, he started to think of what Niall would do if they were in this situation, since Niall was always one to keep a level, optimistic head, even in times of crisis.

Liam scoffed as he thought out loud, "You know, if Niall were here, he'd know how to speak Spanish."

"Good for Niall," Louis bitingly replied.

"'Course, if Niall were here, our passports and wallets probably wouldn't have got stolen, either," Liam added with a breathy laugh.

Louis whipped around on Liam. "Well, Niall's _not_ here! You got stuck with me as your race partner, Liam, and there's nothing neither of us can do about it, so I suggest you quit your crying and quit acting as if _you've_ got the short end of this. As if I'm supposed to be thrilled to be partnered with you—please!"

Liam balled his hands into fists as he glared at Louis. "Well, at least I've been getting us around and through most of these challenges! You, on the other hand, you've been absolutely useless!"

Louis went silent and bit his lip as he looked to the sand. Then he nodded his head. "Right. Great. That's the way you really feel..."

He walked over to the nearest palm tree and threw down his rucksack. He promptly sat down against it.

"What are you doing?" Liam asked.

"I'm absolutely useless." Louis shrugged his shoulders and impishly lifted his palms toward the sky. "So I'm just going to sit here and do nothing whilst you go ahead and sort this yourself."

"What?"

"Well, go on!" Louis beckoned with a hand. "Since you've got it all figured out. Since you think you'd be better off without me."

"Louis..."

Louis didn't respond, but just looked straight ahead of him. His eyes were dark and cold.

"Well, jesus...” Liam growled, “Don't leave this spot until I get back, then!"

Louis didn't respond, so Liam left without another word, speed-walking and stomping his feet as he did so. Half an hour later, he hadn't seemed to have gotten far, as he was still among rural environment. He looked at the map, making sure he was on the right trail. Maybe he should start running, like Louis so flippantly suggested.

He picked up his pace and continued toward San Miguel, which he reached after another twenty minutes. It must have been farther than five kilometres. Stupid, inaccurate map. At least it had become overcast now, so it wasn't as hot as it could have been. Although, it was strange how dark it got when it had just been so bright and sunny only an hour before.

Liam followed the attendant's marked path to the police station and stopped when he came to the destination, a white building with sea-foam green font, the Palacio Municipal. It didn't say Police, but this had to be the right place...

Once he entered the building, he went to the front counter and asked for help, then had to wait ten minutes. He waited on a small wooden bench in the office, then heard a series of patters hit the window. He glanced through the blinds of the window to see it had started to properly rain a bit outside.

“Hello, I'm Officer Marquez. How can I help you?” a curly-haired man with an admirable moustache called out to Liam. Liam bolted up from his seat and practically sprinted to the counter.

“Mine and my...friend's passports and wallets have been stolen. I think. We were on the beach and when I went to check my bag, they were both gone.” His voice had gone light and breathless. He swallowed in hopes of fixing that.

“Are you sure you might not have left them any—”

“No!” Liam shouted. Officer Marquez raised his eyebrows.

Liam bit his lip, feeling bad for his outburst. “I'm sorry, but... no, I am 100% certain that they have been stolen.”

“Do you know or have any idea who stole it?”

“Um—well, no.”

Officer Marquez sighed. “Okay. Well, the most we can do is file a report."

Liam's eyes widened. "That's it? There's nothing you can do about it? Someone's stolen our passports and our money! How are we supposed to get on a plane to the U.S.?"

Officer Marquez looked down in guilt. "Sorry, friend. But what can we do? We have no suspects, and no way to find out who has your passports. Unless someone else reports it, or if your information shows up anywhere, we can't do anything about it. Until then, you can go to the consulate, let them know about the stolen passports, and get a replacement."

Liam waited for Officer Marquez to look up the British consulate in Cancun on his computer and then write down the address and phone number on a slip of paper. They were not open right now, so Liam would have to wait until tomorrow to contact them.

He sighed and took the piece of paper into his hand. "Thanks."

As he walked back to Avenue Melgar, the rain had picked up and slapped in sheets against the stone pavement. People had scattered indoors and the streets were nearly empty.

Louis... Liam worried to himself. Had he gotten to shelter? Had he left the island?

Liam looked down to his watch, noting the time. 4:43. He won't make it back in time to get their ferry back to Cancun... Would Louis still be there?

He sprinted against the falling rain back the way he came, slipping occasionally in the mud as it got harder to see and the rain water started to accumulate. He stopped when he neared the beginning of the path that was bordered by trees in every direction.

Through the heavy rain, a fleck of bright red caught his attention. He peered close and saw a small figure against a palm tree. Liam walked closer and narrowed his eyes to make out what looked like someone sitting with something bulky atop their head. They had their knees up, tattoos all along the inside of one of their arms that raised the bulk above their head, and their white t-shirt was completely soaked through, revealing a chest tattoo. That was definitely Louis.

"Louis!" Liam called out as he sprinted towards him.

Louis looked up, pushing his limp, soaked fringe out of his eyes. "Liam?" he called out.

"Louis!" Liam breathed out in relief this time. He ran up to Louis, then crouched next to him, breathing out heavily and trying to see through the rain that kept getting in his eyes.

"Louis, are you all right?" he shouted over the sound of the millions of splashes of raindrops on the ground.

"What? I'm fine, just—achoo!" Louis sneezed into his chest.

"Have you been sitting here in the rain the whole time? You didn't leave on the boat?"

"Obviously not," Louis muttered, and then he sneezed once more.

Liam gave him a sympathetic stare. "You're shivering, and you're soaked! Are you sure you're not feeling ill?"

"I'm fine, Payne," Louis snapped as he stood up, blinking rain out of his eyes. He hunched over a bit as he picked up his rucksack and slung it over his right shoulder.

"Well, come on!" Liam told Louis, as he stood up as well.

"Where are we going?"

"We're getting out of the rain, first of all!"

Liam tried to find his way back to the beach, although the heavy drizzle made it hard to see. He didn't know exactly where to go, since their hotel was back in Cancun, they had no way of getting back without any money, and the only other place to go for refuge was back in town. But town was too far away, and he remembered seeing structures on the beach. All he knew was that he had to walk somewhere—he couldn't just leave Louis to get any more rained on than he already was.

"Liam... wait..." Louis weakly called out. Liam hadn't realised how fast he had been walking, now seeing Louis far behind.

"Are you okay?" Liam fully turned around to carefully observe Louis, who looked like he was struggling under the weight of his soaked pack as he hunched over.

"My head just feels a bit fuzzy... but I'm fine," Louis replied with a wave of his right hand. "If you could just walk a bit slower, though."

Liam nodded. "Louis, we can stop if you want—"

"No, let's keep going. Don't worry about me!" Louis snapped, but it was made pathetic with the snivelling he added as he brushed his knuckles across his nose.

Liam walked at Louis's pace this time, and looked over at him to make sure he really was okay.

Louis stopped in his tracks and glared up at him. “Liam, stop staring at me and go ahead!”

Liam turned his head and did as he was told, walking forward into the wet sand, which pulled at his shoes, making it more difficult to get by smoothly. Just a few seconds later, he heard a loud smack just behind him. He whipped his head around to see the source of the noise, shocked to not see Louis right behind him. He creased his brow in confusion, then let his eyes wander to the floor, where Louis had collapsed onto the muddy ground, lying flat on his stomach now.

"Louis!" Liam crouched down next to him. Louis's eyes were half lidded as he picked himself up on his elbows, half of his face now dotted with wet sand.

"How the fuck is it so freezing now, when it was just hot as bollocks earlier?" Louis chuckled. "God... my head is spinning!"

Liam reached an arm around and under his ribcage to help him stand. "You've definitely got a head cold. It's not any wonder—you've been sitting in the rain for at least an hour! What were you thinking?"

"I was waiting until you came back," Louis mumbled as he stood up straight, still looking down.

"Why?" Liam asked, his eyebrows raised. "You could have been in a nice hotel room by now."

Louis snorted as he turned to Liam. "If I left you on this island by yourself, lousy boy scout you are—you would have been lost forever. Then we would never get to finish the race and I'd have to waste my time looking for you so I could kick your arse for making us lose."

Liam weakly breathed out a laugh. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Yes, I'm quite the saint," Louis mumbled as he looked down.

"Come on, I'm carrying you from here on out," Liam said as he shifted his stance on the ground and his grip on Louis's waist.

"There's no need to do that, Liam. I can walk on my—for fuck's sake!" Louis protested as Liam hoisted him up in one movement onto his back, his arms hooked under Louis's bicep and thigh.

"This is easier for the both of us," Liam explained as he shifted his shoulders to accommodate Louis's weight. Louis didn't respond but relaxed his body and rested his chin onto Liam's shoulder.

With the rain still pouring heavily and the extra weight bearing down on his back, Liam focused his energy on walking out of that jungle and back to civilisation. He rubbed his hand over Louis's arm, which was cold, as well as the rest of his body.

"Mm... you're warm..." Louis murmured onto Liam's shoulder. His eyes were closed now and Liam couldn't tell if he was entirely conscious.

"Hang on, Louis. We'll get to a medic soon," Liam reassured him with an extra squeeze on his arm.

Liam trudged on for a half mile more until he found the lifeguard's clinic on the deserted, rain-sodden beach. He walked up to the door, and briefly let his right arm leave Louis's leg so he could try the handle. It was locked, but only a couple seconds later did the door open from the inside.

A brunette young woman looked at Liam with a creased brow. “Qué haces?”

"Please, I need help!" Liam blurted out as he replaced his hand under Louis's thigh.

"What happened?" the woman asked as she ran her eyes over Liam.

Liam's eyes lit up. "You speak English?!"

"Yes, of course. What happened to your friend?"

Liam turned his head to look at Louis, whose chin was still draped over his shoulder as he unconsciously clung to him.

"I think he has a cold. He was out in the rain for a couple hours, he was sneezing, his head hurt, and then he collapsed and—"

"Okay—bring him in!" the lifeguard interrupted as she moved aside.

Liam was careful not to hit Louis on the doorway as he stepped in sideways. Now that he was out of the rain, the woman's voice had become ten times clearer.

"Bring him over here, and we'll see what we can do," she told him. "I'm Gabriela."

"I'm Liam. This is Louis," Liam said as he followed her into a small room, barely the size of a walk-in closet with a small cot and a short stool in the corner.

Louis remained unconscious as they took off his soaking clothes and got him under blankets, a warm water bottle placed onto his chest after Gabriela heated up water in an electric kettle.

Afterwards, she went up to Louis and gently patted his face. "Hey, Louis. Louis?"

Louis's eyebrows were the first thing to stir into action as he knitted them together. His eyes opened shortly after, although they were wandering and unfocused.

"Who are you?" he feebly asked.

"I'm Gabriela. Your friend Liam brought you here because you are sick."

Louis's eyes lethargically travelled to the right to see Liam, dripping wet and apprehensively staring down at him.

"I'm going to need you to sit up for me and take this medicine, okay?" Gabriela asked.

Louis rose up on his elbows, then grabbed at his head. "My head is spinning like a top."

Gabriela offered Louis a small glass of fizzy liquid, which he swallowed down with a grimace.

"Are you a doctor?" Louis breathlessly asked.

"I'm a lifeguard."

Louis nodded, then sank back into the cot and immediately shut his eyes again.

"...Louis?" Liam tentatively called.

"Shut up, Liam. You make my head hurt with all your worrying," he replied without opening his eyes. A few seconds later, his breathing got deeper and the lines on his face smoothed out.

"Is he supposed to be unconscious or is something else wrong with him?" Liam asked.

"It's the fatigue,” Gabriela replied. “His body is resting now."

"Thank you so much for helping us!" Liam almost wanted to cry in gratitude. For a second, he thought Louis might actually die if they didn't find shelter.

Gabriela put a hand on his shoulder. “It was nothing. Were you on your way back to a hotel?”

"Actually, we're kind of stranded here. We came from Cancun, but we got our passports and all our money stolen, and we missed our ferry to get back," Liam exhaustedly explained. "I don't really know how to get back or what to do."

Gabriela nodded. "You can stay here. My shift is ending in ten minutes. No one else should be here until the morning."

"Really? Oh, thank you!" Liam exclaimed as he stood up, wide smile on his face. “You have no idea how much this means to me—to us. Thank you!”

Gabriela shrugged. "It's nothing. I think I can also help you get back to Cancun. My brother Tomás, he is the captain of one of the boats that takes tourists from here to the mainland. He needs more crewmen and he would be willing to pick up any extra help. Go to the dock at the east end of the beach, to the boat named Dolores. Tell Tomás I sent you, and you two can get across—just make sure you work hard. He leaves at nine in the morning."

"Of course! Yes, we will!” Liam looked back to Louis's unconscious figure. “Um, is there anything else I should do for Louis?”

“After the medicine, now it's up to his body to get better. Just keep him warm,” Gabriela said as she picked up an umbrella and neared the door. Liam fervently nodded and sat down on the floor next to Louis as Gabriela left.

Liam kept watch over Louis all night and heated up water in the electric kettle several times to replace the water bottle and wrap it up within his bedsheets. Meanwhile, he took the time to hang their clothes to dry around what he could in the small clinic. It was 2am when he finally rested his head against the wall and his eyes dropped closed until the morning.

\----

A groaning yawn and the rustling of sheets roused Liam awake in the morning. He blinked open his eyes and looked to his left to see Louis stretch his arms as he lied in bed.

"Liam?" Louis questioned as he let his eyes wander and saw him sitting against the wall just next to him.

"You're awake! How are you feeling?" Liam asked, his eyes brightening up.

Louis waited a few seconds before answering and placed a palm to his forehead. "I feel fine. Great, actually." He turned to Liam. "Did you stay here all night?"

"Well, where else was I supposed to go?" Liam asked with a shrug and a tilt of his head.

Louis looked down and smiled. His hair was completely flattened around his head now, the length of his fringe reaching just under his eyes.

He looked back at Liam. "Liam, I really am sorry about the passports. You were right. I wasn't watching our rucksacks the entire time. And I assured you I'd keep our things safe, and I failed. So sorry."

"It's all right," Liam replied with a smile. "I'm just glad you're okay. Um, I need to apologise as well. Louis... I was rude. I shouldn't have said those hurtful things to you. You're not useless."

Louis smiled at the corner of his mouth. "Please, Payne... You don't have to go apologising to me just because I fell a bit ill."

Liam's eyes dropped. "I'm not! I—" He looked down and bit his lip. "I'm not usually a nasty person. And you didn't deserve to be told all those nasty things. You were right. I was acting like a proper arse."

Liam looked over at Louis, who shrugged at this in agreement. He continued, "You're my partner, Louis. And instead of bickering and blaming you for things, I should have been working with you to get us out of this mess."

"Give it a rest, Payne. I didn't take it personally," Louis said with a wave of his hand. "And I don't think you're all that bad. After all, you did kind of save my life yesterday. Like the proper firefighter you are. So thank you." Louis had been looking to the side as he said this and pursed his lips.

"You're welcome," Liam replied with a smile. The air felt different between them now. Less constrained. Easier to breathe.

Louis scratched at his head. "Well, so much for us getting that headstart. God, what time is it?"

Liam looked down at his watch. "Around eight."

"Did you figure out a way for us to get back to Cancun? Before I passed out on you?" Louis asked.

Liam shook his head. "Well, I didn't figure anything out about the passports or our wallets, but I think I may have found a way for us to get back to Cancun."

Louis arched his eyebrows, waiting for elaboration.

"The lifeguard said that her brother needs crewmen for his boat. Which travels to and from Cozumel and Cancun. All we need to do is get there by nine o'clock. Work away our passage."

"Well, that's great," Louis remarked. Then his eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened. “Oh, right! As for our passport trouble, we're not completely lost.”

He stood up and reached into his shorts, which were hanging dry on a chair, and removed what looked like crumpled and folded pieces of paper. “These will still do us some good, if we can just get to a consulate to replace our original ones.”

He held out the parcel of paper to Liam, who tentatively took it. He unfolded the papers, and although the ink was smudged and wrinkled, there were the copies of their passports.

A grin spread across Liam's face. “Louis—why didn't you say you had these with you?!”

“Well, I would have got 'round to that if you hadn't been crying at me so much,” Louis muttered. Then his face calmed. “See? I'm not completely irresponsible, Liam.”

Liam felt even worse now for having called Louis 'absolutely useless.' He shook his head as he folded the papers again.

“I'm beginning to see that,” Liam told him, a look of guilt on his face.

Louis sighed and then launched a palm over the top half of Liam's face as he pushed him forward.

“What the hell was that for?” Liam asked as he pushed away Louis's arm.

“To get that ridiculous sad puppy look off your face,” Louis replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “The slightly disgruntled look's a bit more entertaining.”

“Yeah, well—your hair looks pretty entertaining right now,” Liam teased, making his own smug face, as if that was a good comeback.

“Better than that baby-patch of curly on the top of your head,” Louis quipped as he touched a hand to his flattened fringe.

Liam failed to contain a smile as he imagined how his hair must look, cropped close on the sides with the top surely untamed, curls pointing in every direction with this region's humidity.

Louis narrowed his eyes at this. “Why are you smiling? I just insulted you!”

“It does kind of look like a baby's patch of hair, though, doesn't it?”

Louis stared at Liam through hooded eyes. “It looks stupid, that's what. You better put on that bloody snapback you're always wearing so that you don't offend any of the locals!”

Although Louis had been frowning at him as he said this, Liam could have sworn he saw a smile creep up at the corner of his mouth.

 

In just twenty minutes, they ran to the nearby shipyard and found the boat named Dolores, which was no bigger than a small yacht. Liam spotted a man in a grey polo shirt, blue cap, and blue shorts, who was surveying everything from the helm. He straightened up and led Louis to the edge of the pier.

Liam cleared his throat. "Um, hola, um, are you Tomás?"

"Yes, I'm Tomás," the man replied. He hopped down and approached the edge of the boat closest to the dock.

"We want to work for you—to get across!” Liam offered. “Your sister Gabriela, she said that you needed more crew. We'd be happy to help!"

Tomás grinned, his green eyes shining bright in the sun. "Oh, yeah, sure! My sister mentioned about a gringo who might come and see me today," he laughed. "Well, vengan! Come aboard!

"Well, that was easy," Louis muttered to Liam as they walked onto the swaying boat.

"Yeah, almost too easy," Liam answered.

“What are your names?” Tomás asked.

“This is Payno, and I'm Tommo,” Louis moved forward and offered his hand to Tomás with a grin.

Tomás laughed. “Tommo and Payno?”

Liam side-eyed Louis, who looked at him with a smirk. “Nicknames,” he tersely explained.

They were mostly put on duty of cleaning up and organising supplies in the lower deck, since they couldn't be trusted to actually do any sailing. Their work day would last about seven hours, since it was an all-day activity for the tourists who participated. Louis and Liam had breaks during intervals when the guests snorkelled, had lunch, and stopped at another smaller island to go shopping, which left them plenty of time to socialise with the rest of the crew in the afternoon.

"Oye, amigo—cerveza?" Arturo, the blond first mate with weathered tan skin, held out a Corona bottle to Liam.

Liam started to put his hands up to refuse until Louis got near and pinched the skin on his inner bicep.

"Don't refuse it—that is a huge show of disrespect, Liam,” he whispered. “Especially if you're refusing a Corona in Mexico of all places!"

Arturo shook the bottle, then tossed it so Liam had no choice but to catch it.

"Thanks!" Liam replied as Arturo walked forward and handed him a lemon slice, then handed Louis the same.

"What do I do with this?" Liam asked Louis as he held the lemon slice in his hand.

Louis spit out a laugh. "You really don't drink much, do you?"

Liam shot him a flat look.

"Okay, okay—all you do is salt the bottle, or the lemon, whichever you prefer. Then you take a swig—" Louis did just that with his own bottle—"And then—" He took the slice of lemon to his mouth and sucked on it, his eyes scrunching closed together as he did so. He took the lemon from his lips, then licked them. "That's all there is to it, Payno."

Liam nodded, salted his lemon slice, then took a swig of the beer. He promptly raised the lemon to his mouth and bit into it, sucking on the sweet and sour fruit, which masked the bittersweet flavour of the beer into a unique, new taste for Liam. "Hey, that's not half bad."

Louis clapped a hand on Liam's back, "See?”

They finished their second bottle by the time the crew prepared for the final sailing to Cancun. Liam wondered if the crew should have been trusted to operate a boat so soon after they all drank a couple beers, but he felt good, so he guessed it probably didn't matter.

"I actually have a special job for you boys," Tomás said as he clapped a hand on Louis and Liam's shoulders. "See, this is a fiesta boat, and you want to give these people a good time, make them feel relaxed, maybe do a little dance, speak a little bit of Spanish to the girls, make it as fun as possible."

"Wait—what?" Liam blurted out.

“I knew this job was too good to be true...” Louis sighed.

Tomás laughed. “You notice how we've been playing Salsa and Reggaeton most of the time? Well, these lovely people have been eating and drinking for a couple hours now, and we really have to end the day with a bang. And since we're short on crew, it makes sense that you two, who do not need to sail, be the ones to dance. I still tell stories, of course.”

“Get out there, boys!” Fernando, a tall, dark crewman, teased with a whip of his towel.

Liam and Louis walked onto the upper deck, and Liam was glad he drank earlier, because there must be something off if his heart isn't pounding in his chest at the prospect of what he's about to do.

Fernando started doing some fancy steps, then invited a young female tourist to dance. The rest of the crew started clapping or going along with the beat of the music, then more passengers got up to dance.

“Time to go, chicos,” Tomás directed at Liam and Louis.

"Take off your shirt, Liam," Louis whispered in his ear. "Trust me."

"What? No!” Liam protested as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“You want to make good tips?” Louis asked.

Liam's eyes widened. “That's not appropriate!There are a couple underage girls here!”

Louis giggled. “Fine, fine...” He reached behind the beverage counter and took a drink from one of the water bottles. He silently gestured to Liam to ask if he wanted some, since his cheeks were still puffed up with water.

“Yeah, thanks,” Liam replied. But as Louis handed the bottle to him, he turned it upside down, shook it, and spilled the rest of the water down Liam's white tank top, soaking the entire front.

Liam bolted back, then grabbed at his shirt. Louis chortled, satisfied at his devilry. Before Liam could retaliate, Tomás pushed him into the centre of the deck, where all the guests took notice of him—and his now soaking wet vest top.

“Ask someone if they want to dance,” Fernando whispered to him before whisking off another partner from the side benches.

Liam swallowed, then asked the nearest person to dance—a pretty brunette girl with braces, who he hoped was over 18. It must have been because he liked the music, or because he had two beers earlier, but Liam found himself dancing without much reluctance. He salsa-ed and side-stepped, and even did the macarena with guests as Louis chatted up others and convinced them to buy drinks. One particular red-haired woman who Liam decided to dance with didn't want to let him go, and persisted in grabbing him for a dance each time he finished with a different partner.

“Ooh, here comes a boat! Tommo, Payno! Vengan acá!” Tomás yelled. Liam and Louis glanced at each other before they saw Tomás, Fernando and Arturo leap onto the raised bow of the boat. “A las tres—uno, dos, tres!”

As soon as another boat got close, the three crewmen dropped their trousers and shook their naked bums. The guests on this fiesta boat enjoyed it immensely, howling with laughter or applauding.

“Here's another one!” Tomás yelled. “Come up here, gringos!”

Louis smirked and grabbed Liam's wrist. “Come on, Payno.”

Liam held back. “I'm not going to moon random strangers!”

“Why not?” Louis asked.

“Because!” Liam fruitlessly argued. “That's... indecent!”

Louis chuckled. “Liam, twenty years from now you're going to be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So why not live a little?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Liam creased his brow. He had heard that before...

Louis shrugged as he let go of Liam's wrist and hopped up onto the bow. Liam watched the next boat approach as Tomás and the others continued to beckon him. He breathed out a sigh, then laughed to himself as he clambered onto the bow next to Louis.

“Ready... uno, dos, tres!”

Liam turned an apprehensive gaze to Louis before he nodded back, and then they both dropped their trousers and bent forward, their arses hanging out for the crew and passengers on the passing boat to see.

They were met with whistles and applause from their own passengers, and Liam hastily pulled up his shorts. He turned to Louis with flushed cheeks. Louis was busy laughing and clapped a hand onto Liam's back. Liam winced, but was surprised to find the clap gentle this time.

Louis was smiling at him. “Didn't know you had that in you!”

Liam laughed. “Neither did I.”

As they hopped back down to the deck, it finally occurred to Liam where he had heard what Louis said before:

_Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover._

It was from the same exact quote that he had been reciting to himself for a month! That had to be a coincidence, right? Or, that quote was pretty popular, wasn't it? Liam can't be the only person who knows that by heart...right?

He glanced up at Louis, who started making half-serious salsa steps as he walked among the dancing guests. Maybe there is more to Louis than he had considered before... Actually, he hadn't considered much about Louis, except that he was loud and obnoxious. But today, he'd been having only fun with him.

By the time the sun went low and the boat finally arrived at a port in Cancun, Liam and Louis had earned $48 in tips (most of the people on the boat were American). The same red-haired woman popped up in front of Liam again and she reached her hands around his hips, then tucked a bill into the band of his shorts. Liam gulped at this and nervously laughed.

“Hey, you... You're really hot. And it's been a very long time since a guy as hot as you has danced with me or given me as much attention. Ha, like twenty years. Anyway, I'd like to thank you.” She reached forward and kissed Liam on the cheek, then he felt something thin and plastic slip into his hand. “Here's a key to my hotel suite.”

“Oh, I, uh,” Liam stuttered out. “I'm not sure that I can—”

“Relax,” the woman laughed. “Your boy over there, the cute one with the cheekbones to die for, he said you two don't have a hotel for tonight. I like to consider myself a good Samaritan, so you guys can have my suite.”

“Wow, I don't know what to say...” Liam uttered as he shot a glance toward Louis, who gave him a swift thumbs up.

“Well, I didn't plan on using it tonight... Though I can't say I don't wish I was using it with you,” the woman remarked as she patted Liam's bum. “You two make a cute couple, by the way,” she added before she let Liam go and disembarked.

Liam creased his brow, then reached for the bill stuck in his shorts and almost choked—it was a hundred-dollar American bill!

“You two are free to go now!” Tomás told Liam and Louis as he finished helping the last of the passengers onto the dock. "You can keep your tips. Thank you for your help.”

“Thank _you_!” Liam gushed. “If it wasn't for you, we'd still be stranded on that island!”

Tomás grinned. “De nada. If you ever come back to Cancun, give Tomás a visit!"

"We will! Thank you, Tomás!” Louis cheered before giving him and the rest of the crew hugs.

As Liam and Louis walked along the port toward the city, Liam cleared his throat. “Louis... Did you tell that red-haired woman that we... uh, that we were...”

“A couple? Oh, yeah,” Louis nonchalantly answered. “We got to talking—she's planning on leaving Cancun tonight to surprise her adulterous husband back in L.A. Her assistant's already packed her bags and waiting at the airport. So after hearing this bit of gossip, I might have let it slip that me and my fit newlywed husband lost our passports and money, and need to stay in Cancun another day, but that we don't have a hotel booked.”

Liam scoffed. “And she believed you?”

“Well, you've got the suite key, don't you?”

“You're diabolical,” Liam remarked with a shake of his head.

“Thanks,” Louis smirked.

“Why newlyweds?” Liam asked with a gulp.

Louis pursed his lips. “I did you a favour. If she'd thought you were available, she would have likely changed her mind and dragged your arse up to her suite tonight and then where would I be? Plus, newlyweds in Cancun sounds like a compelling cover, don't you think?”

Liam shrugged with a nod.

Louis clapped a hand on his shoulder and grinned. “Relax—it's not like we have to keep up a ruse. The real housewife from L.A. is gone and we've got her suite key. You're welcome.”

The first thing Liam and Louis did in the city was go to the redhead's hotel, and they were pleasantly surprised to find that the suite not only had a king-sized bed and living room with an ocean view, but that a computer with internet access was included in the room. They immediately looked up the British Consulate and how to get there. Unfortunately, they discovered that the building was already closed for the day and would only open at 8am the next day.

“That's one more day of putting off the race,” Liam sighed. “Not to mention, we still don't know if we can get passports in time or how we're supposed to get to Dallas or—”

Louis clamped a hand on Liam's shoulder and stared him in the eye. “Liam. Stop worrying. It won't do you any good, since we won't be able to do anything about it until tomorrow anyway. So why not live for the moment, and have some fun now?”

They went to dinner at a small cantina that Tomás had recommended. The food was even better than the lunch they had the day prior, and as they ate, they were treated to a live mariachi band playing just outside and offered free tequila shots—which Louis reminded Liam it would be rude to refuse.

"That was fun!" Liam cheerfully exclaimed. “Except... I don't like tequila.”

Louis chuckled. “So, where to now?”

“Maybe we should get some rest. After last night and today, you've got to be—”

"Liam—” Louis dug his fingers into his shoulder. “We're in Cancun. The mecca of all Spring Break getaways. And we're not going to be able to get out of here for at least another day, since the British Consulate's not even open until tomorrow morning. A rich floozy has gone out of her way to give us her suite tonight because you, my fancy-footed friend with the obscene jeans-wearing style, swung your hips in her direction—and we have over one hundred American dollars in tips! So we're going out!"

Liam giggled as Louis reached up to hook an elbow around his neck and dragged him down Boulevard Kukulcan, where the bright neon lights had turned on and the bass had begun to bump along the hotel strip.

They made their way to a huge party that was going on at one of the ritzy beachfront hotels. To Liam's surprise, most of the music they bumped at the club was American and slightly outdated by a few years. But he still sang along to all the songs and even had a few drinks that Louis bought for him as they made the acquaintance of several tourists. It was the first time that Liam had actually partied like someone his age and he was having a blast.

They had just finished swaying and bumping their hips to “Moves Like Jagger” when Liam descended into giggles and clapped Louis on the shoulder.

“That was great! Why weren't you dancing on the fiesta boat?”

Louis laughed. “This is different! Dancing in broad daylight is a bit mortifying!”

“You? Mortified of something? Crazy!” Liam exclaimed.

“We can't all be natural born dancers like you, Payno.”

Liam creased his brow. "That actually sounded like a compliment. How many drinks have you had, Tommo?"

"This is only my second one since we got here," Louis replied with a grin.

"Bullshit!"

Louis chortled. "Liam, I'm being serious! You're the one who's been drinking like a sorority girl on Spring Break all day."

"Only because you've been giving me drinks all day!"

"You could have refused..." Louis gave him a sly look.

Liam narrowed his eyes and stuck out his lower lip. "But you said—Hey! You took advantage of me!"

Louis laughed into his chest. "Maybe a little. But now we're having fun! Aren't you having fun?"

"The most! I'm not even drunk! This is great!" Liam shouted.

Louis laughed.

"Yeah, I want another one—let's have another! Who else wants another drink?" Liam asked the people immediately around him.

Louis started, "Liam, I think you should—"

"Jell-o shots!” a high pitched voice rang out, which belonged to a college-age American girl who was going around handing out handfuls of jell-o shots. Liam took one.

"You sure about this, Liam?" Louis asked with a half-amused eyebrow raise.

“I've never had a jell-o shot—but it has to be good, right?” Liam shrugged.

"Last one to finish buys the round! And... go!” the American girl shouted.

Liam quickly brought the plastic cup to his mouth, then stretched his tongue down the full length of it, swirled it around the bottom, and scooped it into one large gulp in his mouth. Liam slammed down the cup onto the counter as he swallowed and raised his hands up straight into the air. "I win!"

“Great job, Liam!” Louis clapped a hand on Liam's shoulder between laughs.

"That did not taste as good as I thought it would," Liam told him with a frown and shake of his head.

"Would it taste better off of me?" a blonde young woman asked as she flicked her eyes up and down Liam's torso.

Liam nervously laughed. "Um, I—I don't know. Probably not."

The girl quickly lost her smile and side-eyed Liam. Louis howled in laughter at this, placing a palm on his shaking abdomen. For a second, Liam thought about what it would taste like to take a jell-o shot off of Louis's flat belly—which was a dangerous thought—why did his mind even go there?

"Are you all right?" he heard Louis yell into his ear.

"Y—yeah!" Liam stuttered. Definitely not focusing on how Louis's grey shirt clings to his sweaty torso so he can see the outline of his muscles.

"Let's go dance!" Liam exclaimed as he dragged Louis by the hand onto the dance floor again.

 

\---

"She take my money... well I'm in neeeeed! Yeah, she's a triflin'... friend indeeed!" Liam sang as he and Louis ambled back into their hotel suite. "Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold-digger, but she ain't messin' with no broke, broke—"

Louis giggled. "Quite the singer when we get smashed, aren't we?

"Why did we leave the club? I want to go back!" Liam whipped around, though Louis quickly reached around his torso and tugged him back around before he reached the door.

"Liam!" Louis giggled. "We've got to get to sleep because we've got to get to the consulate early. First thing in the morning! Which it kind of already is!"

"But you can still hear the music from here. Listen!" Liam went over to the balcony and listened to the beats coming from the nearby hotel. He started bumping his hips and bobbing his head to the tune.

Louis shook his head. "God, what have I unleashed?"

"Don't you want to dance? You looked like you were enjoying yourself back there," Liam said as he shimmied back over to Louis.

“You know what? You're a pleasant drunk, Payno.” Louis crossed his arms with an admiring gaze.

Liam laughed. “I'm not even that drunk!”

Louis laughed. "So attempting to break dance on top of tables is something you do when you're sober?"

Liam tilted his head. "Um, well... no... at least... not until now, maybe."

Louis chuckled. "God, you're going to have the most glorious hangover!"

Liam laughed at this and rolled his eyes. Then he gazed fondly at Louis. “You know, I really thought this was going to be terrible. Me and you, that is. I thought when our passports and all our money got stolen, we were finished! And I was soooooo pissed off at you!" Liam chuckled. "Hell, I was ready to just catch a plane back home. But today... we managed to make it work and... you're smart, and you're so funny, and this is the most fun I've ever had! I don't think I've ever danced this much or laughed this much in one day and...” He lowered his eyes down to Louis as his face grew more solemn. “I quite like you, Tommo.”

Louis smirked to the side. “I think you've had too much to drink.”

“No! No...” Liam lurched forward and gripped Louis's shoulders tight. Louis shot his eyes up to Liam's.

“Okay, maybe I _am_ a little drunk,” Liam giggled. “But I'm telling the truth! Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you're drunk, anyway?”

Louis bit his lip, letting only the faintest grin express itself on his mouth. “Well, as long as we're drunk and telling each other truths—I absolutely abhor this hat."

Louis reached up and snatched the New York Yankees snapback off of Liam's head.

"Hey!" Liam protested, although he was smiling until crinkles formed around his eyes.

Louis slinked away to the balcony, grinning and baring his teeth as he dangled it over the edge. He stretched back his arm in preparation to throw it when Liam rushed at him and grabbed his wrist. Louis stretched and pulled away from Liam until he was backed into the corner of that balcony, both laughing so much until their faces went red.

"Give it here, Louis!"

"Fight me for it, firefighter!" Louis said as he poked Liam's belly, then slinked away into the room once again.

Liam chased him, bumped into the small table, then resumed clumsily after Louis, who had nearly got to the balcony once more before Liam lunged and hooked his arms around Louis, his biceps pinning Louis's arms to his sides. Louis grunted as he fought to get out of Liam's grip, twisting around until he faced him. He wriggled and laughed until Liam had both of his wrists tightly clenched between his hands. Louis was pinned against the wall, face folded into full-mouth grin, his eyes creased shut. Right arm fully stretched above his head and the other pinned at his side, he tossed the snapback to the side and breathed out a laugh.

But as Liam realised just how close both of their faces and torsos were now, the snapback was forgotten.

His hair, damp with sweat from the earlier club dancing, flopped over his forehead as he let out a weak giggle. Louis had quieted his laughing, too, and was now gazing intently into Liam's eyes. Liam felt his heart flutter against his chest, and his cheeks grew warm, unrelated to all the alcohol he had consumed that night.

He turned his head in the direction of the balcony, in an attempt to play off the blush on his face. He could barely make out Ne-Yo's “Closer” blaring from the outdoor party. “Oh, hey, they're playing Ne-Yo—I love this song!”

Liam smiled, then released his hold on Louis's left wrist as he prepared to move back. But before he could get too far, Louis grabbed Liam's chin and lunged forward to plant his mouth on his.

Liam didn't know how to react, except to stay right where he was, his left hand tightening on Louis's wrist as he felt Louis's warm lips push against his own. He opened his eyes, which he had just realised had been closed, and saw Louis's long eyelashes flutter open to gaze over at him as well, blue eyes burning into him. Liam pulled his lips away and released Louis's other wrist, blinking to himself and processing what just happened.

He had never kissed a bloke before. He had fancied a few in the past, but he had only ever had girlfriends. Not that any of that was even important now. What was important was that it was Louis who had kissed him right now. And he liked it.

Up until a day ago, he was quite sure that he wouldn't find _anything_ likeable about Louis. But now, he didn't want anything as badly as he wanted Louis's mouth on his again. He wanted his whole attention, his touch, his attack, and—maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it wasn't—he really liked Louis now. And Louis was fit. Beautiful, even. And nothing had ever felt quite as good to Liam as having Louis look at him with that burning gaze, making him feel wanted.

Liam had been dazedly staring off into Louis's eyes as he processed all of this, which Louis must have not known how to interpret.

"Sorry, I—" Louis started, but he was interrupted by Liam taking hold of both sides of his neck and kissing him harder this time. Liam hungrily took in air before he pushed Louis against the wall and kept him pinned there with his mouth. His large hands roamed down Louis's arms until they took anchor over his skinny wrists again.

Liam breathed in the scent of alcohol and sweat, along with the salty taste of Louis's lips against his tongue as he forced them open. Louis responded by sucking onto Liam's lower lip as their bodies pressed even closer into one another. Liam ground his hips against Louis's as he kissed him, and Louis moaned against Liam's parted lips as he balled his hands into fists against the wall.

Liam pulled away once again, but kept Louis's wrists pinned to the wall. He took the time to really look at Louis; the way he breathed heavily, his chest heaving up and down, his cheeks flushed, his lower lip looking tender and shiny as he let it hang open. Liam's eyes scanned back up to the pointed locks of hair straggling over his eyes—striking, beautiful blue eyes that he had never taken the time to fully appreciate. He had always perceived them to be cold, like the way the sky looks just before a storm. But now they were soft, warm, and deep. He felt like he could jump into them like a pool of Caribbean sea water.

It was now that Liam noticed how soft all of Louis's body was, how delicate his wrists were under his own strong hands, how his shirt clung to the curves of his hips and back, and how much smaller he was than Liam. But back to those eyes: those were soft now, too, and Louis was never soft. He was usually rough, loud, and authoritative. And now he was pinned against the wall, _letting_ Liam pin him to the wall, looking up at Liam, waiting for him to make the next move.

It made Liam ache more with want. This time, he went slow as he leaned forward and softly touched his lips to Louis's, holding his wrists more gently this time. He took his time to really feel all of Louis's mouth against his, to taste the inside of his mouth as he glided his tongue across his lower lip.

"Oh, fuck you," Louis growled as he bit at Liam's lower lip and pushed forward against his grip. Liam reflexively pulled away and saw the mischievous glint in Louis's eyes as he pulled his mouth into a satisfied smirk. There was the Louis he was used to.

Liam grinned as he pushed his hips into Louis's and rolled his pelvis forward. "What's the matter, Tommo? Can't take it slow?" he whispered into Louis's ear as he still had his wrists pinned against the wall.

"Shit," Louis hissed out as he threw his head back, unintentionally hitting the crown of his head against the wall.

Of course, as Liam felt Louis shudder against him, it made his own member throb with a rush of blood.

He gasped out, "You know, Tommo—I think this is the quietest you've ever—“

Louis shut Liam up by aggressively lurching forward and taking his pillowy lips into his mouth with a bite. His teeth tugged against Liam's lower lip as he ran a hand underneath Liam's tank top, smoothing his hand up Liam's sculpted torso until he reached his left nipple, which he pressed his fingers into.

Liam opened his mouth into a gasp as he felt his entire body bristle in reaction.

"You like that?" Louis whispered into his open mouth as he pinched at it again.

"Fuck," Liam gasped out as he felt his dick twitch against his jeans, the friction almost too much to handle. He grabbed tight hold of the back of Louis's head and crushed his face to his, mouths smashing into one another, teeth grazing and cutting against each other's lips, the slight scruff on their chins scratching together. It was more of a mess than anything, but Liam couldn't get enough—every touch, every lick, every bite from Louis got him so riled up.

Louis drew his hands down and pushed forward as he hooked his thumbs into the loops of Liam's jeans. Liam complied and walked backward until they both stumbled over onto the bed. They both broke into giggles, legs tangled into each other's as Louis straddled Liam's knees. He walked his hands up the bed so that he could look Liam in the face, then drew his eyes down to Liam's jeans.

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Well, you really are quick at pitching a tent—proper boy scout, you are...”

Liam laughed at this until Louis brought his hand down onto Liam's dick and pressed his palm down, making him yelp and moan.

Louis's eyes shot wide. “Really, Liam? Even after all the alcohol you've consumed tonight?”

Liam looked up at Louis through half-lidded eyes as he tried not to implode just yet. He drew his hands down toward his groin. “Well, we don't have to go there if you're—”

“No, we should go there!” Louis blurted out, his cheeks flushing.

“We should?” Liam breathlessly questioned.

Louis nodded as he hovered close to Liam. “I mean, look at you.”

Liam blushed and bit his lip as he met eyes with Louis.

Louis gulped as he reached a hand down toward Liam's belt buckle and slipped a hand underneath, just over Liam's pants. Liam felt his dick pulse hard just at the touch of Louis's hand. And then to his disappointment, Louis quickly retreated his hand.

“Wait—maybe we shouldn't,” Louis said as he closed his eyes.

“Why?” Liam gasped.

“You're drunk. I'm a bit drunk. I feel like I'd be sort of taking advantage of you.” Louis explained, keeping his eyes closed tight. “And I wouldn't want you to wake up tomorrow morning and—“

“Louis, please...” Liam breathlessly whined. He was so hard and every pulse of the blood through his veins threatened to make him go over the edge, and if Louis didn't get him off right now, he would have to get himself off.

“Okay,” Louis huskily replied.

To Liam's surprise, Louis didn't go straight for his dick again, but settled himself just straddling one leg as he hovered low and brought his mouth to his clavicle. He stroked a hand up Liam's torso, pushing his top up as he worked his mouth up to Liam's neck in small pecks. First he kissed gently, then licked, then started to suck at his skin as he stroked Liam's right nipple between two fingers.

“Fuck, Louis...” Liam groaned, feeling his entire body bristle with sensation, his hips bucking up involuntarily.

“Mm-mm,” Louis muttered against Liam's throat as he took his hand from his nipple to his hip bone to force him to stay still. He continued to kiss at Liam's throat until he reached the birthmark and sank his teeth around it. Meanwhile he brought his hand to Liam's jeans and only had to tug and pull once to expose Liam's boxer-brief clad pelvis.

Liam looked beyond Louis's pointy, cinnamon crown of hair and watched as he slipped a hand into his pants and gripped the base of his cock. He sharply inhaled as Louis started to stroke, slow at first, but then faster and harder as he still sucked on Liam's throat. Liam had to dig his nails into the sheets just to keep himself from completely writhing under Louis's hand and mouth. He only had his hand down there for a few seconds before Liam started to thrust into it and melt from the inside out, every inch of him burning, the muscles from his neck down to his ankles clenched tight as he reached his climax. Then it was all a white-hot, full body release of pleasure—he could hear himself cry out and moan, but it was far away, like he wasn't even really there. He couldn't see straight, he couldn't even feel his limbs, but just felt the orgasm spread from his core throughout his entire body in a great wave.

Somehow he could move his head, which he threw back against the mattress, incredibly soft and welcoming. His breath slowed as his chest heaved, and he recognised his own heartbeat again as it gently throbbed through the veins in his neck.

Then everything faded to black.

 

\----

Liam woke up to a brightly lit room, white sheets obscuring his vision. He lifted the side of his face from his pillow and looked out the window. Outside, the sea lapped quietly, the wind rustled palm trees, and there were no clouds in the sky. He brought himself up on his elbows and tensed his brow, then looked back down to see that he was naked.

"Oh—" he let out with a startle. He whipped his head to the left to see Louis lying just next to him, still asleep, facing the opposite direction.

Flashbacks from the night before rushed through his head. He had drunk a lot and felt the faint buzzing in his frontal lobe now. He remembered dancing with Louis at the club and coming back to this room and then kissing him and then—

"Oh!" he exclaimed, louder this time, blushing so intensely his cheeks hurt.

"Mm..." Louis muttered as he started to stir.

Liam's heart pounded against his chest as he tried to remember everything. He remembered the snogging—the incredible snogging—and then they got to the bed somehow and he definitely remembered what happened next—Louis's hand around his dick and his mouth simultaneously leeched onto his neck, making him burst at the seams—but everything after that is a blank.

He swallowed, then glanced down at Louis, who was shirtless but still wearing basketball shorts. His mousy hair flopped over the top half of his face and stuck up in tangled strands. His mouth was set into a pout and Liam couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked.

It was at that second that Louis's eyes fluttered open lazily. He glanced back and saw Liam staring down at him. He cleared his throat and then turned over onto his back.

"Um... Morning." Liam put a hand behind his head, not sure how to initiate a normal conversation.

"Morning," Louis replied as he sat up.

"Um..."

"You might want to put some pants on, Payno. Seeing as we have to get to the consulate soon." Louis stood up, facing away from Liam now.

Liam, caught off guard by Louis's newly punctual attitude, glanced down and brought the sheets up just over his hips. "Right... Um, Louis..." His throat grew dry as he knew what he would have to ask.

Louis turned around with his arms across his bare chest, waiting quietly for Liam to finish his sentence.

"Did we... did we, um—nothing else happened after, um, well—"

"After I wanked you off?" Louis asked.

Liam nodded, a bit unnerved by the casualty with which he said that. And now a bit self conscious if he should be unnerved by that.

Louis grinned and bared his canines. "Call me old fashioned, but I don't have sex with blokes when they're unconscious. It's frowned upon in many upstanding cultures."

"Unconscious?" Liam blurted out. "At what point—"

"Right after you came." Louis continued to smile. "At first, I thought you were just taking a while to recover. Then you started snoring a minute later. Had to clean you up myself and send our clothes for laundry service.” He cleared his throat. “That's why you're naked."

"Oh... I'm sorry!" Liam blushed. "God, I can't believe I fell asleep—that's just—well!"

Louis laughed. "You _did_ have a lot to drink last night. And I coerced you into drinking. So I suppose I'm to blame for the entire ordeal."

Liam glanced up with a bashful grin. "Thanks. For, you know... cleaning up."

"Sure thing, mate," Louis replied with a nod.

After a few seconds' silence, Liam and Louis caught gazes, both full of apprehension.

Louis cleared his throat. "Listen, I know... if you want to just forget about last night and move on, we've got a competition to win and that's the most important thing, and I'm really going to try and be—"

"I don't want to forget it," Liam interrupted as he looked up at Louis.

Louis looked down into Liam's brown, eagerly shining eyes. "Oh," he softly let out.

"That was... that was the first time I'd ever... with a bloke, and... it was kind of amazing." Liam glanced to the side as he blushed once more, hoping it wasn't too obvious. (It was.)

Louis blinked as his mouth hung open.

"Of course, if _you_ want to forget it—by all means—" Liam stuttered.

"No!" Louis sat back onto the bed. "No, I don't want to forget it. Besides, you owe me now."

Liam tilted his head in confusion. Louis softly laughed at this.

"Got me proper worked up and then fell asleep on me, right as we were just getting started. Liam Payne, you are the worst sort of tease!" He slapped at Liam's bare thigh as he said this.

"I really am sorry. I'm so embarrassed—ahh..." Liam plunged his face into his hands.

Louis chuckled. "No worries, Payno. I expect to get paid back in full by the time we're done with this adventure."

Liam laughed. "Is that a threat?"

Louis just smirked. "Get some trousers on. We've got a lot of track to catch up on."

 

\----

Liam and Louis took a cab to the British Consulate, which was about 30 miles from their hotel. Because they had the printouts of their actual passports, they were able to efficiently fill out the appropriate forms and take new passport pictures to be used for the temporary passports they would be issued.

And as if Liam's hangover migraine wasn't enough discomfort, he had to phone a collect call to his sister Ruth to borrow money just to pay for the new passports. She wasn't too pleased to hear that he had been robbed or about the extra money he needed wired to buy plane tickets to Dallas, but she didn't mind sending it over right away.

“I'm sorry to ask you something so big, Ruth,” Liam apologised over the phone. “But if I rang Mum or Dad, well... Mum would probably drown herself in her own tears.”

“It's okay, Liam,” she sighed. “I'm just glad you're safe and not murdered and left in a ditch. You and Niall better be more careful in the future, you hear me?”

“Right... Me and Niall,” Liam gulped, and caught Louis's gaze. He wasn't sure if he was ready to drop that bomb on Ruth as well, that he had been travelling with a stranger across the world. Which shouldn't be a big deal, but she's already wound up so much.

“I feel a bit guilty that your sister's the one financing us,” Louis said after they'd sat down to wait for the new passports to process. “I could have called me mum, you know.”

“It's fine. I'm paying Ruth back when I get home. And if we win, then that's not going to be a problem, is it?”

Louis smiled. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Liam replied.

In just a few hours, they were equipped with temporary passports and secured themselves last minute seats on an evening flight to Dallas. This time, Liam made sure that they ate a full meal at the airport before boarding.

\----

After having watched _Star Trek: Into Darkness_ and _Warm Bodies_ , Liam and Louis sat in boredom looking out the window to see nothing but black.

Louis tapped Liam's elbow with his knuckles. Liam quickly turned to see Louis point his head in the direction of the flight attendant about a dozen rows ahead of them, parcelling out refreshments.

"Would you like to play a game?" Louis asked, shooting Liam a grin.

Liam smirked. "What'd you have in mind?"

Louis quickly raised his eyebrows, then leaned over and whispered into Liam's ear the rules of the new game he just invented—the only rule being that if anyone spoke to them, they could only respond with a question. The penalty was a smart pinch to the nipple.

"How is this going to work?!" Liam exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Shh—just follow my lead," Louis replied just before the flight attendant came to their seats.

"What can I get for you, sir?" she asked Louis.

"May I have a Red Bull?" Louis asked.

“Sure!” the flight attendant reached into her cart and handed him one.

"How can I ever thank you?" Louis asked with exaggerated gallantry.

The flight attendant laughed. "Oh! Just saying thank you is enough."

"Is it really, though?"

Liam grinned at this.

"Yes, it is." The flight attendant quickly shifted her attention to Liam. "And what can I get for you?"

"May I have iced tea?" Liam asked.

"Yes, you may."

"What kind of a monster drinks iced tea?" Louis berated.

Liam laughed. "Are you going to let me say thank you to the nice flight attendant?"

"Are you going to renounce your citizenship as an Englishman?"

"Why are you being so mean?"

"Why are you crying so much?"

"Will you stop being rude and let me thank—I'm sorry, what was your name?"

Louis shut his mouth and raised his eyebrows at Liam.

"Carol."

"Will you accept my gratitude, Carol?" Liam asked.

"Yes, I will. You're sweet."

"Aren't I?" Liam remarked.

Louis bit his lip to contain the laughter that was building up in his mouth.

"If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask," Carol told them with a smile.

Liam and Louis immediately turned to each other and giggled before Carol was even out of earshot.

"You're quite good at this,” Louis remarked. “That was a test run. Here comes another one."

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it is _on_ , now..."

They played this game with three more people on the flight before it landed, and although no one else found it amusing, they had a couple proper giggle fits over it before their plane landed.

"Thanks for flying with us, have a nice day!" the captain told them before exiting the cabin.

"Is that a threat?" Louis questioned.

Liam broke into a giggle. "Louis, come on..." He pushed him forward by the elbow as they walked through the jet bridge into Dallas International Airport.

"I win!" Louis hooted as he reached back and twisted Liam's nipple. Liam brought his hand up and grabbed at Louis's. They were both laughing until Liam realised he still hadn't let go of Louis's hand—and he didn't exactly want to. He gave Louis a warm look, who shortly grinned back before flicking Liam's nipple and running ahead.

As they neared the front of the queue at U.S. Customs, Louis leaned over and bumped Liam's arm.

"Would you like to play a game?" he whispered close to Liam's ear.

" _No_ ," Liam adamantly shook his head as he laughed, thinking how disastrous a game of endless questions would play out with the scary-looking bald American man at the counter.

"You're no fun!" Louis remarked as he crossed his arms, the corners of his mouth crooking into a grin.

Liam smiled at him.

After they got past the arrival gate, they were rushed by a crew of two men in suits and two cameramen.

“Where the bloody hell have you two been?!” one of the suits fumed.

Liam and Louis were scolded about not letting the camera crew know what had happened to them in Cozumel and about not having on their mics either, which they had disposed of because they were damaged by the rain in Cozumel. After this, they were given a ride to the motel they'd be staying at in downtown Dallas.

Liam was surprised to learn that Dallas was a metropolitan city, full of skyscrapers, glittering lights, and paved streets. He felt a bit stupid for thinking that Texas was all farmlands and cowboys, but could he help it if that's all he saw on the telly growing up?

In the morning, they were given new mics and picked up by a black SUV to head to a ranch just twenty miles west of Dallas among rolling hills and farmland. Liam was glad to have his ideal image of Texas reinforced by this excursion, in addition to his preconception of the heat. It was already a sunny and humid 88°F by 10am. Even with air conditioning in the car, he and Louis were sweating from the sun that filtered through the windows. Liam distracted himself from the heat by remarking upon the yellow grass fields and all the different animals he saw.

“Look, cows!” he exclaimed. “And look, horses!”

“There's cows and horses in England,” Louis muttered.

“Yeah, but these are _American_ cows and horses,” Liam giggled.

Louis remained silent and morosely stared out the window.

“Hey, what's wrong?” Liam asked.

“Nothing,” Louis said without turning to him. Liam looked at him closely, and saw no hint of play in his face.

The rest of the ride was quiet, which was weird. Perhaps Louis was just exhausted from all the travelling and the jet lag.

They stopped at the small farm, which was bordered by bright green trees and smelt of flowers, hay, and the faint scent of horse excrement. Liam and Louis were greeted by a stout, blonde woman in a red plaid shirt over blue jeans and mud-stained galoshes.

“Hi, boys. I'm Marsha. I have a couple farm maintenance tasks for you to do today, in addition to one special challenge back in Dallas. Just follow me, and we'll get started.”

Liam looked to Louis with a grin, though Louis barely reciprocated it with a twitch of his lips. Something was wrong with him. Was he ill again?

But he didn't appear to be ill as they completed the first of their challenges, which was to round up fourteen chickens and put them in a coop. Liam laughed and flailed as he grabbed the fluffy birds that scratched and pecked at his gloved hands and wrists. Louis grumbled to himself as he efficiently grabbed the chickens and deposited them in the coop. But other than that, he said not a word to Liam.

Their next challenge was to move a pile of dry hay, 52 bales, from one side of a barn to the other. Liam picked up two bales at a time, enjoying the burn it gave his arms and back muscles, but Louis struggled with even one bale as he hauled it over using both arms.

“Come on, Louis!” Liam aggressively urged. “Pick up the pace!”

Louis didn't respond—which was weird. Liam had at least expected a smart remark from him.

They got the task done in seven minutes, with Liam having transferred 32 bales. Louis transferred 20.

“I'm kind of tired,” Liam gasped to Louis as he rested his hands on his knees. “What about you?”

“I'm good,” Louis shortly replied.

Liam stood up and creased his brow. Why was Louis being so quiet today?

“Good job, you two!” Marsha applauded. “You have one more task to do today to complete your challenge, but it is also an opportunity to get the Express Pass. So we're taking a trip back to the city.”

The SUV took Liam, Louis, their camera crew and Marsha to downtown Dallas, where they stopped in at a bar. It looked nearly identical to American sports bars Liam had seen on the telly, with neon signs of guitars, stars, alcohol related puns, a couple pool tables, leather couches, and autographed acoustic guitars and photos hung up on bright red walls. At one end of the long room, there was a small stage with a giant, gaudy neon star backdrop behind it. At the other end was a large, fenced off area and what appeared to be a mechanical bull, where a woman was riding and a large group of people around the fence cheered. Two seconds later, the momentum knocked her off balance and she fell onto her bum, laughing.

“As you can plainly see,” Marsha started, “Over here is a mechanical bull, and if you can stay on this thing for over thirty seconds, you get the Express Pass.”

“Well... that doesn't sound too difficult. Louis, I think you should do it,” Liam told him.

Louis creased his brow and properly looked at Liam for the first time all day. "Me? No! Why?”

"You've got strong thighs," Liam blurted out.

Louis's eyes widened.

"I mean—they look strong, and they've got great muscle tone—I mean, you play football, and um, yeah,” Liam awkwardly argued.

"Um, well—I don't know," Louis squeaked out. "You've got arms twice the size of mine, and you're a bloody firefighter—let's not waste our time figuring out which one of us is stronger."

"But I've got chicken legs!” Liam argued. “Not the proudest thing to admit, but anyway, it's not just arm strength you'll need up there.”

"Yeah. Okay," Louis replied, not looking Liam in the eye. He turned back to Marsha. "So... Thirty seconds?" He walked up to the ring and placed a hand on the gate.

"Thirty seconds," Marsha replied with a nod.

Louis breathed out sharply before he skipped over the fence, then pulled up his black skinny jeans and stretched a bit. The crowd around the ring cheered and whistled as one of the handlers helped him mount onto the bull, which had a fake wool coat on it, and plastic chocolate-brown eyes.

"One hand up in the air."

Louis did as told, then glanced over at Liam before sharply turning his head away. It was weird, he seemed nervous or something. Liam didn't know whether he had made things awkward or not by looking at him, so he ducked his head down. But once he heard everyone start hooting and clapping even louder, he had to look up. Louis was doing good. He was doing really good, even as the mechanical bull started to spin faster and buck up on him.

He _looked_ really good, too.

Liam really shouldn't be turned on by this. It's just Louis on a mechanical bull. He's just got his back arched, his bum tucked out, his thighs clenched, and his pelvis rocking back and forth as he sits on the bull. Nothing arousing about this. At all.

The bull went even faster and Louis held on tight, biting his lip in concentration. He leaned over, bracing his legs onto the bull so tight, that Liam could see his muscles working from under his skinny jeans.

"25... 26... 27..."

"Come on, Louis! You can do it!" Liam cheered.

"29... 30! He's done it!"

Promptly after this, Louis lost his grip and was tossed aside from his seat and thrown on his back onto the puffed up mat underneath.

Liam rushed over the threshold to go help him. After he gripped his hand to pull him up, Liam moved to hug him, but Louis moved out of the way with a grin. He just bumped a fist on Liam's arm instead.

What was that about? Liam thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes.

"Congratulations, guys!” Marsha cheered after they got through the applauding crowd. “You've got the Express Pass—which means you get to leave Texas tonight, and here is your next destination!"

She handed the letter to Louis, who opened it silently. Liam watched him from the side, unable to see the contents himself from that angle.

Louis's fingers tightened around the envelope and his eyes grew wide. "No way!"

"What? Where is it?" Liam asked.

"Tokyo!" Louis cried out. "I've always wanted to go there!"

"Oh, Tokyo! That's ace!" Liam cheered. He got close to Louis and placed a hand on his back.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Louis shortly grinned at Liam, then shrugged away from his hand as he walked towards the exit of the bar.

Liam creased his brow in confusion. Was he imagining it or was Louis acting completely distant? Almost to the same level as it was when they first didn't get on, but this was a bit worse because he wasn't being mean—he was just ignoring him. Had Liam read the situation wrong after that night in Cancun?

"Liam? You coming?" Louis asked as he turned around.

"Yeah," Liam replied as he skipped to catch up with him.

They didn't speak on the way back to the motel, and even when they were in the room, any conversation Liam tried to make with Louis was met with one-word responses or bored looks and gestures.

“I'm going to shower,” Liam announced as he stood up from the bed and bent down to pick up some clothes from his pack. Louis hadn't said anything in response, sat on his bed flicking through TV channels.

Liam shortly glanced at him as he walked to the bathroom, but Louis didn't meet his eyes. It was only after he closed the bathroom door behind him that he heard a muffled, “Liam, wait!”

Louis barged in, then slammed the door and locked it.

Liam creased his brow. "Louis—what are you doing in here?"

Louis furrowed his brow and turned on both taps in the sink. He marched up to Liam, who had backed into the tile wall. Louis stuck his hands under Liam's shirt and ran them up his back. Liam felt a slight sting as his mic and wire got ripped from his back and tossed to the ground. He looked down and noticed Louis already had his own mic end buried within his fist, which he then threw to the ground.

Before he could utter out a word, Louis reached up and took Liam's face into his hands, then pulled him in for a kiss. Liam grabbed at Louis's waist, pulling himself close to kiss back. Louis opened his mouth and aggressively kissed Liam until Liam had to break away just to catch his breath.

"What... what is this all—" Liam gasped.

Louis put a finger up to Liam's swollen lips. "I'm really sorry. It's just..." He glanced down briefly. "Would you understand if I said I didn't want this to be a thing on camera?"

Liam blinked. "Are you—are you ashamed to be seen with me? Because if this is going to be that kind of thing—"

"No!" Louis exclaimed, then covered his mouth, as if shocked by how loud he was for once in his life. "It's not that at all," he said in a quieter voice. "Liam, you're—you—" Louis bit his lip. "I like you. And I haven't liked someone like this... in a really long time. It's just... we're moving really fast and I don't know if it's too fast, but—"

"I get it." Liam put his head down. "We barely know each other. We barely met a week ago and—"

"That's not the problem!" Louis interrupted. "That's not what I'm worried about."

"What are you worried about?" Liam stared down at Louis, wondering what could ever make him look that troubled.

"I don't want to fuck this up. And I'm worried that because we're on camera, because everyone will see this—" he bit his lip and sighed.

"What?" Liam softly asked.

"It's stupid... but I just feel like... it'll be made less real, somehow. And I want everything between us to be 100% real. This...thing... between us, whatever you want to call it—It's just started. And I want to continue exploring it with you, and see where it goes—but I'm not ready to share it with the world. Not yet, at least. Not for millions of people and television producers who might exploit it for the purpose of 'entertainment.' I know—this sounds stupid." Louis ducked his head down.

Liam slowly curved his lips into a smile as he relaxed his brow. "No, I completely understand."

Louis bent his eyebrows forward as his eyes grew bigger. "You do?"

"Yeah. All I cared about was this being real, too."

"I'm sorry about before," Louis said as he tapped his fingers against Liam's hip."I just—I don't know how to act around you when I'm trying not to show too much on camera—so it's easier to just not do anything—but then you go and make me do that fucking mechanical bull challenge—like that's supposed to help when you're looking at me like that!"

Liam grinned. "I'm glad it was just that. I thought... I thought you had regretted it or just didn't think anything of it and wanted to brush me off—"

"I know. I'm awful." Louis leant up and kissed Liam. "I'm sorry." He kissed him again. "If we didn't have those bloody camera blokes haunting our every move, I would have already had you as soon as we got here."

"Yeah, they do kind of follow our every move," Liam conceded with a frown. “I mean, they were even filming us now, watching the telly!”

"Nosy bastards," Louis sneered. "The only fucking place they don't follow is directly inside the loo. Wouldn't be surprised if one of them was lurking just behind that door to try and get our conversation."

Liam laughed. "At least we're halfway done with the race. We keep up the good work, we'll be back in London in no time and away from these bastards for good."

"Right. Excellent thinking, Liam! New incentive—the sooner we finish this race, the sooner we get to finish each other." Louis rose his eyebrow as he slapped a palm onto Liam's chest.

Liam giggled, then his face dropped. “So... does this mean you're going to go back to ignoring me on camera?”

Louis looked at him with pained eyes. “That was so shit of me. I—I'll do better. Just... if I go anywhere near your ridiculous lips whilst a camera is on us, you better shove me off. And don't hold back with your firefighter strength.”

Liam laughed.

“I mean it, Liam,” Louis moaned as he rubbed at his eyes. “Don't give me that look, either.”

“What look?” Liam asked as he grinned.

Louis bit his lip and put his hands on his hips. “The one that's making it hard for me not to kiss your stupid face right now.”

 

\----

“So do you think it's going to be cold in Japan?" Liam asked halfway through their connecting flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo.

A crease formed in Louis's forehead. "Why would it be cold in Japan?"

"Isn't it, like, close to Australia? And it's winter in Australia right now, isn't it? Southern hemisphere and all that?"

"Yes, it's winter in the southern hemisphere, but—"

"That's going to be quite a change—I don't think I packed anything heavier than a windcheater—well, does it ever get cold in Australia? Maybe it won't get cold in Japan, either—"

"Liam! Stop—are you telling me that you don't know where Japan is?" Louis asked, grin curving at the side of his mouth.

"I know where Japan is."

"Then you don't know where Australia is."

Liam furrowed his brow. "Are you saying I'm wrong?"

"Oh, Liam..." Louis shook his head and sighed.

"What?!" Liam exclaimed.

Louis chuckled, "You're the bloke who spent twenty quid on a bloody map book and you don't even know which hemisphere Japan is in!"

"Yes, I do! It's next to Australia—southern hemisphere, right?"

Louis pressed the button on the screen in front of his seat. He accessed the world map then pointed to Japan. "Take your time."

Liam peered close to the map on the screen, realising that Japan was actually above the equator line. "Oh."

"Oh," Louis mocked.

Liam pouted and stuck out his lower lip. "Japan is still pretty close to Australia!"

Louis broke into a laugh as he plunged his face into his hands. "You are an absolute riot, Liam Payne."

Liam frowned at first, but seeing the pure delight on Louis's face made him soften his look.

\----

In four more hours, they finally arrived in Tokyo, where it was early afternoon a day ahead, due to time zone differences. Their first challenge was to go to a traditional Japanese temple nestled within the city. The wooden floors, latticed gates, and sliding shōji doors provided a huge juxtaposition to the bustling, modern industrialism of Tokyo's streets.

“Hi, my name is Yuki!” greeted a girl with brown hair and a pink and black blazer-skirt combination.

“Hello,” Liam and Louis greeted back.

“Today, your challenge will require you to learn how to handle weapons traditionally used by the shinobi, or ninjas, though now used in sport. My friend, Nagano-san, will teach you. Then you will be tested on the accuracy and performance of your skills. Good luck!”

Liam and Louis were led to another large room, empty except for an array of targets, bamboo sticks, and racks of katanas, daggers, and nunchuks. Nagano was a middle-aged man, dressed in a black keikogi. He brought in a wooden box that he unclasped and revealed to show small, sharp weapons. First, he demonstrated how to throw ninja stars, or shuriken, as Liam learned. Then he handed Louis two shuriken so he could practice.

Louis grinned over at Liam. “Watch...” he launched his arm back and gave Liam a fierce stare as he aimed at him.

“Don't!” Liam giggled as he ducked and covered his head with his arms.

Louis laughed. “Okay, I won't.” Then he brought up his arm again and made another intense face as he brandished the shuriken at Liam.

“Come on, Louis,” Liam laughed. “Just get on with it.”

“All right, all right...” Louis muttered. He cleared his throat, then focused on the targets in front of him. He threw a shuriken that barely made it onto the panel.

Nagano handed Liam two shuriken next.

“Ha, let's see me do better than you,” Liam taunted with a raise of his eyebrows to Louis. He whipped his right arm back, and was about to release and throw a shuriken when he noticed it was no longer in his hand.

“Ahhhh!” Nagano was screaming, as the blade of the shuriken was stuck in his shoulder.

Liam and Louis looked on in wide-eyed horror.

Yuki ran into the room. “What happened?!”

\----

“I still can't believe I stabbed the instructor,” Liam groaned with both his palms over his face as he and Louis made their way to the second challenge via car.

Louis laughed. “He just needs a couple stitches, Liam... He'll live to see another day!”

“I still feel like an idiot...” Liam muttered as he plopped his head against the window.

“Well, next time don't talk so big a game when you can't back it up,” Louis teased. “What was that you said, 'let's see me do better than you?' Right...”

Louis shot Liam a toothy grin. Liam still felt embarrassed, but less guilty, now that he was laughing at himself.

“Speaking of games,” Louis continued, “This next challenge is in an arcade. You play video games, Payno?”

“Of course,” Liam replied with a smirk.

Yuki met them at the front desk in a huge arcade in Shinjuku. There were flashing lights, music, beeps, bells, and all sorts of prizes in windowed displays. The place was crawling with children, teenagers, and even some older adults, including a group of men who seemed to take their Street Fighter tournament dead seriously.

“Hi, boys!” Yuki called out over all the noise as she led them through the arcade. “For your second challenge, you are to face off in a video game against the top scorers at this arcade. The game is a first-person shooter and it's a virtual battle simulator. So I must warn you that there will be vibrations and sharp movements in your seats.“

“Oh, fuck yes!” Louis cheered. Yuki's eyes widened. “Um, sorry...” he said after he brought a hand up to his mouth. Liam laughed.

“I'd like to introduce you to your opposition, Yatsuba and Mizuno,” Yuki said as she approached two teenage boys, one with bleached orange hair, and the other with spiked black hair. Liam and Louis shook hands with them.

“Yoshi!” “Ikuzo!” the other boys cheered before turning around to get started.

“What did he say?” Liam whispered to Louis.

“Have no clue!”

“Yoshi!* It's like 'Go! Go!'” Yuki demonstrated with a fist punching the air.

“Ah... Yosh!” Louis cried out with his fist in the air.

The game they had to play was a first-person shooter game very close to the style of Halo, in which militaristic and guerilla tactics were applied in a group battle situation. Liam and Louis got into black leather seats enclosed in small pods, which could be shut with side doors, and a wide, flat screen was suspended at eye level. The controls were on the arms of the plush seats, including a joystick that could be moved from the right or left arm. Liam and Louis had headsets so they could speak to each other as they played. The other team was situated across from them, though they couldn't see each other very well at all.

Louis laughed as he got settled into his seat. “This is so sick! Zayn is going to have a proper strop about this when I tell him!”

After a brief tutorial, the four of them battled each other for fifteen minutes amid an incoming alien invasion. The virtual simulation was so advanced that even nearby blasts in the game would jolt the seats. Everyone each had five lives to start with, and all were on their last now.

“Liam, the other one's in the corner. I've got your back. Go, go go!” Louis shouted.

Liam moved the joystick to run, cut across the corners, and dodge-roll out of fire.

“Shit, they spotted me!” Liam spat out.

“Run!” Louis yelled.

Liam pushed his joystick as hard as he could whilst switching out weapons. It was frustrating because he couldn't run and shoot behind himself at the same time, and the game didn't give the option of running backwards.

“I've got you, Liam!” Louis shouted.

Suddenly, the shooter on Liam's tail disappeared.

“Fuck yes! Got him! Get in!” Louis crowed. Then Louis's marker disappeared. “What? What the fuck—the other one got me!”

Liam was still running around the level and circling to find a good vantage point to take out their last opponent.

“You got this, Liam!” Louis cheered him on. “Go up high.”

“He's following me!” Liam nervously yelped. Though he did as Louis said and got into some futuristic-looking building. Then he hid into the nearest closet—because they had that type of thing in the game world.

“What the hell are you doing?” Louis exclaimed.

“Hiding!” Liam answered.

“Hiding—that's not going to—”

At that moment, the opponent came through the same corridor so Liam jumped out of his closet and sent a barrage of fire. The other guy went down. Bright Japanese characters flashed on the screen, though Liam could not understand what they meant.

“You've won!” Yuki called out to them from outside their pods.

“Ha, we won!” Liam exclaimed with a wide grin. “Using the oldest trick in the book!” He looked for Louis in the other seat, but he had disappeared.

“Liam, we beat them! Good on you!” Louis shouted in his ear—literally, this time, as he had appeared right next to his seat. He gave Liam the most aggressive high-five he had ever experienced, both hands, multiple times, and then a weird handshake hug-type thing. It definitely made up for the lack of interaction in Texas.

After Liam got out of his seat, he and Louis met up with Yuki at the front of the arcade. The teenage boys that played them looked put-out, but shook hands and bowed anyway. Liam and Louis bowed in return.

“Congratulations on completing your challenge! Here is your next destination.” Yuki smiled brightly as Liam took the envelope. “Enjoy the rest of your night in Tokyo. Arigato!”

“Arigato!” Liam and Louis replied as they bowed to Yuki, who had already bowed to them.

Liam opened up the envelope and studied their plane tickets. “Mumbai... India!”

Louis's eyes lit up. “India! Yosh!”

Liam laughed and replied, “Yosh!”

After getting back to their hotel in Shibuya, they went out into the overwhelmingly colourful and crowded district. Liam felt like he was in a pinball machine, darting from flashy corner to flashy corner, and getting rewarded each time with the discovery of something intriguing. He and Louis found the most ridiculous articles of clothing to wear in a costume shop, including platform shoes with large spikes protruding from the toe section—which Liam playfully threatened Louis with—and a Sonic the Hedgehog onesie, with Sonic's face and spikes as part of the hood.

“Psst, Liam, let's go this way,” Louis hushed out to him after they had changed back into their regular clothes. Liam bent his eyebrows, but followed. The other side of the dressing room exited to a completely different area.

“Oh wow, there's a whole other side to the store!” Liam remarked with a wide, open-mouthed grin.

“Shh! Come on!” Louis said as he took Liam's hand and ran off through the store.

“Where are we going?” Liam laughed.

“Turn off your mic,” Louis giggled as he reached down for his in his back pocket. Liam reached down and turned his off as well and then they ran out to the street, giggling.

“You think they'll come after us?” Liam asked, referring to their camera crew.

“Don't know! But I suppose when they find us gone, they'll have a proper fit!” Louis cackled.

As they ran down the pavement, Liam snapped pictures of all the amazing and strange things he discovered. He even snapped a couple of Louis making stupid faces and hand signs, and they took a selfie together in the middle of Shibuya Crossing. At one point, they bought food from a random vending machine for dinner. Liam was wholly amazed at being able to get hot ramen soup out of a machine on the street.

“Hey, let's go up there!” Louis suggested as he pointed to an electric ad of Tokyo Tower, lit up and blinking.

“Okay!” Liam eagerly replied.

They went to a nearby Apple store and looked up how to get there. Then they took the metro and reached the top of Tokyo Tower in nearly an hour, overlooking the nighttime cityscape. Tokyo looked so big and small at the same time, and it baffled Liam that he could be halfway around the world from home at this moment.

“Hey, I just want to say thank you,” Liam said as he and Louis leaned over the edge of the railing.

“For what?” Louis asked, his head inclined in curiosity.

Liam shrugged. “Well, you've got me to try and do a lot of things on this race that I wouldn't normally do—but it's been a lot of fun. I've surprised myself with just how much fun I can have, and I don't think I've laughed this much with anyone...ever. So thank you for that.”

Louis graciously smiled as he ducked his head down. “As much as I'd like to take credit, I do believe you've had this in you the whole time, Liam. You just needed a bit of a poking here and there.”

“Thanks anyway.” Liam bit his lip, then smiled at Louis. “I'm glad you're my partner.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Oh. I... I, uh—are you sure you're not feeling ill?”

Liam chuckled. “I mean it!”

“Well... Uh—you too,” Louis mumbled.

“What was that?” Liam asked, although he had heard perfectly.

Louis scrunched his mouth sideways as his cheeks grew rosy. “I like you being my partner, too,” he hissed.

Liam smiled.

“But only for your firefighter strength,” Louis continued as he crossed his arms and turned away.

Liam laughed. “You're cute when you lie.”

“Shut up, Liam!” Louis growled, his face becoming even rosier.

“Make me.” Liam crossed his arms, with a smug grin splayed across his face.

Louis darted his eyes up to Liam's face, then narrowed them in delight. He lunged and hooked a hand behind Liam's head as he pulled him in to give him a kiss. As he let go, he reached and twisted one of Liam's nipples through his shirt.

“Ow! What was that for?” Liam asked with a laugh.

“For using such a bloody cliché line,” Louis purred.

“But it worked, didn't it?” Liam beamed down at him.

Louis narrowed his eyes and stared at Liam for a few seconds. “I hate you.”

Then he lost his composure and his mouth broke into a big grin.

 

\----

Liam and Louis returned to their hotel at 1am to a grumpy set of cameramen. Just five hours later, they left to Narita International Airport and embarked on a long and uncomfortable journey to Mumbai. After a ten-hour flight, they were subject to two hours of traffic just to get to their contact from the airport. It was very humid and hot in the city, and there was nothing to do but take it without air conditioning in their taxi.

After dropping off their bags at their hotel, Liam and Louis walked to a very ornate building two miles away in Churchgate. It was faster than any form of public transportation or a cab, and they would have shown up with their backs drenched in sweat either way. The building was made of red brick and bordered by gardens, a small pond, and artfully manicured trees. Liam and Louis went inside and made their way to the air-conditioned banquet hall, where a stage was set up with several men and women adorning beautifully jewelled saris and sherwanis, all brightly coloured.

They were greeted by a beautiful, brown-haired woman named Priya, who was dressed in a long, beige dress wrapped in a sheer white sari.

“Welcome, Liam and Louis! Mumbai is the capital of Bollywood, a place where dreams are made and stardom is just a lucky break away. Bollywood culture has become massive, not only in India, but on an international scale as well. Today you are going to be part of the show for a charity banquet, sponsored by a local dance studio, and you are going to perform a dance along with this group up here.”

Priya then introduced Liam and Louis to Ayesha, a tall, black-haired woman who was the leader of this dance group. She bent down to the edge of the stage to speak to them.

“Our choreography is a mix of traditional Indian dance and modern hip-hop dance. Watch us first, so you get an idea, and then we'll teach you.”

After Ayesha returned to her spot on stage and gave the signal, the stage speakers played a two-minute mix of “Marjaani,” a song from the Bollywood film, _Billu._ Liam and Louis exchanged impressed looks as they watched the dance group bust out their routine. It was hard to keep their eyes off the three girls in front who landed every step, arm wave, hip thrust, and jumps with perfection in their beautiful outfits. Liam took a liking to the song as well, and started to bump his head and hips to it. Louis briefly smiled at him and kept his eyes on the dance the rest of the time.

“And that's all there is to it. Not too difficult?” Ayesha shrugged.

Once they got on stage to be taught, Liam completely focused on getting down every step with perfect form and timing, and took initiative to make sure he got an 8-count sequence down before he moved onto the next 8-count sequence. Meanwhile, Louis let his steps flow into one another and showed more musicality than precision in his form. He had a playfully intense expression on his face, didn't hold back on his hip thrusts, and made his waving arm movements look like stereotypical rapper arm movements as he tucked out his lower lip and made a stern face.

“Can you stop that?” Liam hushed through his teeth. “Do it properly!”

Louis laughed. “What's your problem, fancy feet?”

Liam narrowed his eyes. “Stop being disrespectful!”

“Ladies, how am I doing so far?” Louis asked as he glanced to the dancers nearest him.

Ayesha graciously smiled at Louis. “Wonderful! You've got so much heart and passion, Louis. I can see it in your dancing! And Liam, you're doing very well, too!”

“See, they don't have a problem with it,” Louis told Liam as he put his arms up in defence. “So why should you?”

“Because you're not taking this seriously,” Liam replied with his hands on his hips.

Louis pursed his lips and gave Liam an exasperated stare. “If I took it seriously, Liam, then I'd stress myself out—like you're doing to yourself—and then I would mess up. So I prefer to just have fun with it!”

Liam sighed. “Look, just... these people take _their_ dancing seriously. It's the least we can do to put in the same effort.”

Louis rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. I'll be serious. Just for you...”

“Well, don't do it for me! Do it for the dancers,” Liam protested.

“For the dancers, then!” Louis pulled his face into a forced grin.

They went through the routine one more time, and although Louis had better form, he made a few mistakes and forgot a few steps.

“Just in advance, I'm sorry if we ruin your show,” Louis joked. The dancers laughed, though Liam frowned at this.

They practised the dance routine so many times after, Liam thought he might actually start to learn what “marjaani” actually meant. Louis had got the routine down nearly perfect, but the last few times, it was Liam who had begun to miss steps and forget transitions between sequences. Now that Louis had it down, he didn't have an excuse to not be perfect himself, and it frustrated him that he was starting to miss small things. He didn't want to ruin this performance, especially now that he had practically forced Louis to work hard as well.

They were given twenty minutes to get into costume and make-up before the banquet guests arrived. Liam and Louis were front and centre on the stage, hair combed neatly, dressed in white oxford shirts, shimmering spring-green nehru jackets, and matching black trousers and shoes.

Liam whispered to Louis, “You nervous?”

Louis looked over to him. “No. But you are...”

Liam gulped.

Louis cleared his throat. “Look, Liam... I'll do this properly. But you—you just have fun out there, all right? Don't think so much. I want you to enjoy yourself, like you did in Cancun. Remember how much fun we had then?”

Liam couldn't answer because the curtains had just risen from the stage, though he managed to give Louis a warm smile.

The music started and Liam and Louis began to dance their practised steps without mistake. Louis glanced at the other dancers to make sure he was dancing correctly. Liam caught his gaze and winked at him, though it wasn't too successful since he couldn't close one eye without the other following shortly after. Louis laughed at this and began to let loose, like he initially did during practice. Liam got so distracted watching Louis dance that he forgot which steps he was supposed to do next.

His first instinct was to panic as his heart went into overdrive and he started to sweat. But he stopped and took in a deep breath. He thought about what Louis said and only focused on having fun. So he started to do his own signature freestyle moves to the beat of the music. Louis gave him a perplexed look, then laughed as he watched Liam do a back-and-forth shuffle move that was similar to his table-dancing back in Cancun. Liam followed this up with a circling shimmy as he smiled to himself. Everyone else on that stage smiled at his improvisations until Liam finally found his way back to the original routine and they closed out the dance.

After the song ended, the room immediately erupted into applause. Liam glanced between the other dancers, who applauded him and Louis, who was staring at him with the widest grin on his face. He walked over and clapped a hand on Liam's shoulder.

“What the hell was that—you completely forgot the last half!” Louis giggled.

“I had fun, though, like you said to!” Liam shrugged as he smiled.

Priya came up onto the stage, clapping her hands. “Congratulations! Liam and Louis, you have completed your challenge and earned your next itinerary. Good luck on your travels.”

Liam took the envelope and thanked Priya as the rest of the dancers moved off the stage.

“Well, open it!” Louis urged as he fidgeted with anticipation.

Louis smiled at him, then folded the envelope open to reveal two plane tickets to Oslo, Norway.

“Norway! We're going back to Europe already!” Liam gasped.

“You know what this means, right?” Louis asked. “We're almost at the finish line!”

 

Liam and Louis's flight wasn't until the morning, so they had the rest of the night off, and were allowed to sit for the rest of the banquet and eat. The elder guests sitting at their table showed them how to properly use rotis to eat the Kori Ghassi dish.

“This is really spicy,” Liam nearly choked, his neck and cheeks turning red.

“Have some water, mate,” Louis laughed.

Even after he gulped down half a glass of water, Liam kept coughing, garnering stares from the guests around their table. Louis patted him on the back. “Liam, how's about you and I go to the loo?”

Liam and Louis excused themselves from the table and exited the banquet room into the empty side corridor. Their cameraman followed them, and once they got past the loo, Louis gripped Liam's elbow and made a run for it.

“Hey!” the cameraman called after them.

Liam laughed as he ran with Louis, delighted at having been able to pull the same move once again on their new camera crew. After they rounded a corner, he found a small closet to dart into and hide as he and Louis covered their mouths to muffle their giggles. They heard the cameraman walk past, and a minute later, Louis opened the door and stealthily ventured out.

“Let's go to the roof, yeah?” he suggested.

It was raining heavily outside, so Liam and Louis darted under a canopy that bordered the balcony. They decided to sit on the balcony and overlook the hazy city skyline under the violet-tinted rain clouds.

"So... two more stops left. I can't believe it's almost over," Liam remarked as he swung his legs from his perch.

"Yeah,” Louis replied.

Liam leaned against the smooth white pillar, keeping his palms flat on the stone. "What do you plan to do with the money, if we win?"

Louis looked up in thought. “Well, I suppose I'll probably use it towards school, and savings for my little sisters—I've got four. And my mum's pregnant with twins on the way."

"Wow..." Liam gasped.

"Yeah, so I'm the eldest—which means I've got the most responsibility. Mum and Dan get by, but the government can only help so much. Especially with school and the girls. If I don't win this race, it's going to be hard on my family if I'm still at uni when the twins arrive. I haven't even told my mum I need to do an extra year. See, I didn't take enough courses to fulfil the English teaching degree, so I'm going to have to take those next year."

"I thought you were going to teach drama?"

Louis sighed. "Well, I was. But apparently the economy doesn't favour drama teachers. There's not as many jobs open as there are for English teachers, anyway. And I'm rubbish at maths and science. And I would have to take a slew of political science courses if I wanted to teach history. So English it is. Zayn's doing English, too, so he's been helping me plan things a bit. But... I don't know how I'm going to afford uni and rent and then be able to help after the twins arrive. I mean—I'm sure I'll manage somehow. Always do... but if I won this race..." he took in a deep breath, "that would sort out a lot of things."

Liam nodded his head in understanding.

"What about you?" Louis asked. "What will you do with the money?"

"Oh. Well... I'd probably get a car. Then I kind of want to move away from Wolverhampton,” Liam answered.

"Would you have to quit your job as a firefighter then and look somewhere else? Or could they transfer you?"

Liam felt himself start to sweat, and it wasn't because of the humidity.

"I actually have a confession to make," Liam choked out, his heart starting to pound.

"What?" Louis boredly asked as he swung his feet over the ground.

Liam took in a deep breath. "I'm not really a firefighter."

Louis softly laughed. "You don't have to explain that to me. I remember—you said you were _training_ to be a firefighter. It's like the police, right? You have to go through months of training before you become a fully fledged protector of the peace—or in your case, a fighter of fires—"

"No, Louis," Liam interrupted. He wrung his hands together. "I'm not even a real firefighter in training. You have to pass a few tests and get hired by a station before you start training. Well... I haven't done that."

Louis was quiet for the next several seconds.

Liam looked down. "Go ahead and laugh. I'm a loser who couldn't pass the physical tests to get into the training program, and I barely passed the written test.”

"I wasn't going to laugh," Louis replied. He sidled closer to Liam on the balcony. "Why did you lie?"

Liam exhaled deeply through his nose. "Because saying I'm training to be a firefighter is less embarrassing than saying I work full time at the local Tesco's.” He sighed. “I didn't think I had to explain it to anyone. Niall obviously knows my situation, and the TV execs, they don't really care about what you do for a living. And it was only a half-lie. I _am_ training on my own time, getting myself in shape, studying up on all the things I have to. So that the next time I take the tests, I can guarantee myself a spot on a team."

"Then what does it matter?" Louis asked.

Liam blinked in surprise. "You don't care that I lied? You don't think it's stupid?"

Louis laughed. "Liam, why should I care? You're brave, strong, and just as heroic as any other firefighter. Maybe more so. Who cares if you're not official yet?"

Liam smiled at this.

"And no, I don't think it's stupid. After all, I lied about being a Drama teacher in training when I'm probably going to end up being just an old, boring English teacher. See, we're both fibbers." Louis warmly smiled at Liam. "Anyway, you never finished answering the question. What else will you do with the money if we win?"

"I think I'd like to go to uni," Liam answered.

Louis's eyes widened. "Really? Uni?"

"Yeah. I already failed once at trying to be a firefighter. They say it takes years sometimes, and I don't want to waste my early twenties working in the same town I've lived in all my life, just to wait on a dream that may or may not come true. And... I don't know... I kind of just want to learn stuff. There's so much about our world that I don't know, like about other cultures, about literature, art, architecture, and politics, even. Plus, it'd be kind of useful to know where Japan is in the future. Maybe I'll take a geography course!"

Louis giggled at this.

"More than anything, though, I just want to get out of Wolverhampton," Liam sighed.

"Well, that won't be difficult—you already got out of Wolverhampton, didn't you?" Louis told him. “We've been to Mexico and Japan—and now India! Can't get much farther from Wolverhampton than that."

Liam grinned. "Yeah, you're right. But what about when this ends? What if we don't win? What happens when we have to go back home?"

Louis was silent for a few seconds. Then, "Well, you can come over to Doncaster and we'll have a good pint of cider—alcoholic or not—over our sorrows."

"What if I wanted to go over to Doncaster for coffee instead?" Liam asked.

"Eh, not coffee. Tea is better," Louis pointedly told him.

Liam smiled. "Fine. I'll go to Doncaster for tea."

Louis grinned, then Liam leaned over until he was only a couple inches away from his face. He glanced his eyes down to Louis's lips and—

“There you two are!” It was their cameraman, who had shown up at the corner of the rooftop.

Louis sharply pulled back from Liam, then grinned as he hopped off his perch. “George! You found us!”

 

\----

After an early morning departure from Mumbai and a brief layover in Zurich, Liam and Louis got to Oslo by 3pm local time, and were on their way in a shuttle up the forested hills of Oslo Sommerpark.

“I really hope they're not making us do another hiking challenge,” Louis muttered with his arms crossed.

Liam laughed. “That wasn't so bad. We'll just take the main path this time.”

Louis narrowed his eyes at Liam. “You're never going to let that go, are you?”

“I'm just saying... Next time we do a challenge like that, it'd probably be best not to try and take shortcuts.”

“Says the bloke who jumps over turnstiles and onto moving trains like he's some sort of action hero,” Louis muttered.

“That was a completely different situation!” Liam defended.

“Well, I refuse to do another hiking challenge!” Louis complained.

“No one ever said we were going to do a hiking challenge!” Liam argued.

“Well, if we do have to hike up another bloody mountain, I'm not doing it! They can't make me!” Louis shouted.

“What kind of spirit is that?” Liam laughed.

Louis narrowed his eyes and Liam simply laughed, noting the crease at the side of Louis's mouth that was trying so hard not to turn into a full grin.

They got off the shuttle to meet a blonde man named Martin at the entrance of the park.

“Today, you're doing a series of climbing obstacles. Follow the flags and read the directions at each site. You aren't being timed for this, so as long as you finish and don't get lost, we'll meet you at the end. Good luck!”

“Climbing, Liam,” Louis hissed in his ear. “CLIMBING. Fuck this!”

“Would you calm down? This is different—it's like obstacle courses,” Liam tried to pacify him.

Louis crossed his arms. “This is still a load of shit.”

They changed into comfy clothes and put on helmets and torso harnesses before they got started. The first obstacle was a simple aerial ropes course, suspended just a couple metres above the ground. All Liam and Louis had to do was get across the other side without falling over, using thin wooden planks and cords on the sides as support, in addition to hooks attached to their harnesses.

The next obstacle involved a similar bridge, with a wall of netting they had to climb onto to get to the other side of the bridge. As they crossed, they noticed another pair parallel to them doing the same type of course. They looked like they were having a bit of trouble. One of them had his legs tangled into the net and his long arms were flailing as he tried to get right-side up.

“I'm going to go back and help them,” Liam said after he and Louis got down to the nettle-littered ground.

“What? Liam, no! Why?!” Louis protested.

“We're not on a time limit, and all we have to do is finish the course,” Liam argued.

“But why are you going to help the competition? Leave the poor bastards!”

“Didn't you hear the lad screaming?” Liam asked as he turned around.

Louis scoffed. “You and your bloody saviour complex... What, saving kittens isn't enough for you?”

Liam sprinted back before he answered that question, and kept his eye on the team in the middle of the obstacle. He climbed up to the end of their course, until he got onto the suspended cord bridge.

“Hang on Harry! I'm comin' to get ya!” the untangled one yelled out as he inched from the bridge towards the net.

“Take your time, Zayn!” his partner cheerfully called back, now right-side up, though still tangled.

“Zayn?” Liam questioned. He peered close, and although he was wearing a helmet, he could make out that the lad with the tattoos and black hair was indeed Louis's best mate.

“Hey, you two! Do you need help?” Liam called out.

“Please!” Harry groaned.

“All right! I'll be right there!” Liam answered. He swiftly crossed the bridge and reached Zayn first.

“You're the firefighter...” Zayn gasped as he saw Liam's face. “Then that must mean—where's Louis?”

He turned around and saw Louis standing on the edge of the course with his hands on his hips.

Zayn furrowed his brow. “My own best mate abandoned me!”

“I don't think he knew it was you,” Liam told him.

“Oh, can't be too sure...” Zayn dryly remarked. Then he shouted, “I'm really feelin' the love, bro!”

"Zayn?" Louis cried.

“Yeah!” Zayn yelled.

“Shit!” Louis hissed.

Liam had just approached Harry, who had somehow gotten his knees crossed and tangled into the rope netting. Liam hooked his heels into separate rungs as he worked to pull Harry out.

“Just hang on to me, I'll get you out of here,” he told Harry.

“Thank you. I'm Harry,” he replied as he stretched out a hand.

“Is now really the time for introducin' yourself?” Zayn questioned with a fond shake of his head. “Thanks for helping. I got to admit, I'm a bit scared of heights,” Zayn acknowledged to Liam with a bashful look.

Liam smiled. “It's no problem. I heard this lad screaming, and you guys looked like you needed help. I'm Liam, by the way,” he told Harry.

Harry grinned widely as Liam finally wrenched his legs away from the netting.

“Okay, Harry, I want you to jump over to Zayn and hold onto the bridge for support. The trick is to keep your feet planted, but spread apart, you see?” Liam gestured to his own feet spread shoulder-width apart in the rope rungs.

Harry nodded, then leapt onto Zayn, knocking him off balance as he swayed on the cord bridge.

“You okay, lad?” Zayn finally asked him with a laugh as he knocked a fist onto Harry's helmet.

“Always there to catch me when I fall, aren't you, Zayn?” Harry nuzzled his nose against Zayn's cheek.

“Not now, Harry,” Zayn muttered as he pushed him off. Though his eyes sparkled with fondness as he stared down at his rescued partner.

“Great, another kitten is saved!” Louis sarcastically remarked. “Get back here, Liam! We've got a race to finish!”

“Thanks for the concern, Louis!” Zayn called out to him.

“Well, you get over here, too, so I can give you a hug!” Louis shouted back.

Liam helped Zayn and Harry across the bridge, where Louis immediately stretched out his arms and grasped his best mate. Zayn wrapped his arms around Louis and crushed his back, and they shook together, wide grins on their faces.

“I missed you!” Zayn cried out as he gently clapped a palm on Louis's cheek.

“Missed you more, bro!” Louis grinned as he let Zayn affectionately pinch both his cheeks.

Liam let Louis chatter on with Zayn as he walked up to Harry. Now that he got a better look, Harry seemed a bit older than he remembered. His hair was wrapped in a red scarf under his helmet, and his curls looked a bit limp. He had a bit of a tired look on his face that reduced a bit of his previous vibrancy. Just a bit.

"Thanks for rescuing me,” Harry told Liam with a twinkling stare and a rosy grin.

“Sure, mate,” Liam replied with a dimpled smile. “So where did you two just get in from?”

"Cairo! Pyramids!" Harry replied.

"Pyramids, Zayn?!" Louis exclaimed. "You stinker—didn't we always plan on going to Egypt one of these years?"

“Yeah, bro, but it was sick," Zayn replied. "We had to like, decode hieroglyphics and we were running around actual tombs and shit—it was so cool. You missed out."

"Well, Liam and I went to Tokyo!" Louis countered with his arms crossed.

"No way..." Zayn gasped.

"Aw, I wish I could go to Japan!" Harry moaned. "What did they make you do—fight with samurai swords? Sushi eating contest?"

“We played video games! And played with sharp ninja weapons!” Louis gloated.

“What—you got to play _video games_ for your challenge! Ugh,” Zayn grumbled.

“Well you got pyramids, so we're even,” Louis retorted as he stuck out his tongue. Then he looked around and pointed both of his index fingers at Harry. “Curly, right?”

“Harry, actually,” Harry responded with an amused half-grin. “Don't think we've ever been introduced.”

“I'm Louis,” Louis said as he shook his hand.

“Yeah, I know. Zayn talks about you all the time,” Harry replied. “I like your tattoos, by the way! Sick deer!”

“Thanks!” Louis raised a smug eyebrow at Zayn. “And is that true, Zayn? You talk about me all the time?”

“Not all the time...” Zayn answered as he looked down and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, _he_ talks about _you_ all the time,” Liam cheekily added.

Louis shortly glared at Liam, then turned back to Harry and smiled. “Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry. I trust you've been keeping Zayn on his toes?”

Zayn breathed out a chuckle. “More like I've been keeping Harry off his bum.”

The four of them continued to talk about their previous travels until they arrived to the last obstacle, which was a zip line course. They each had a small crew to get them harnessed and hooked onto the lines.

“Last one there's a bellend!” Louis teased as he stuck out his tongue. Then he jumped and swung away on his line. Harry giggled and followed on his own line right after.

Meanwhile, Zayn was taking deep breaths and rubbing his hands as he stared at the ground far below them. Liam walked over and patted his back.

“We'll go at the same time. It'll be fun!” He smiled.

Zayn smiled back. “Thanks.”

Liam was too preoccupied with comforting Zayn that he forgot to feel apprehensive about the zip-lining himself, up until he was already suspended over the air. The air rushed past him and whipped at his face as he swung through a blur of trees. He laughed as he swung along and felt butterflies in his stomach. THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN. Zayn was screaming as well—but in excitement—and shot a wide grin over at Liam.

Once he and Zayn landed and got unharnessed, Liam ran through the forest floor to catch up with Louis. They followed the posted flags and sprinted until they met Martin at the end of the obstacle course.

“Yeah! We got here first!” Louis cried as he jumped into the air. “Yosh!”

“Yosh!” Liam raised his fists in the air with a laugh.

Zayn and Harry were out of breath by the time they ambled over to Martin as well.

“Congratulations on all of you finishing your challenge! Here is the itinerary for you...” Martin handed the envelope to Liam. “And here is the itinerary for you.” He handed the next envelope to Harry.

“Hey, you better make sure we're getting the right one, Liam,” Louis muttered.

Martin laughed. “Don't worry! It's all got your names on it.”

Liam opened up the envelope to see plane tickets to Glasgow, Scotland. “We're going to Glasgow!”

“Paris!” Harry chimed in with an eager, open-mouthed grin at Zayn.

Zayn rose his eyebrows. “Paris! Oh, can't wait!”

Louis got close to Liam to look at their itinerary. Then he looked up and met eyes with Zayn.

“It's going to be a close race,” Zayn sighed.

Louis gulped. “Fuck, if only you and I were on the same team...” He glanced to Liam, then curved his lips into a grin. “Well—we're not. And you know I don't like to lose, so don't expect me to hold back!”

Zayn laughed, then hooked an arm over Harry's shoulder. “You better not, cos me and Harry may just take the prize!”

Harry crossed his arms and tried to make a tough face with his chin turned up. Louis and Liam just laughed at this.

As they all walked back down the hill to meet their shuttles, Liam became captivated by the bright pink horizon among the tops of the pine trees.

“What a lovely view!” Harry remarked as he put a hand on his brow to shield from the brightness of the setting sun's rays. He dug into his brown leather rucksack and pulled out a disposable camera.

Liam took his own camera out and snapped a picture. “Hey, you think you can take a picture of me?”

“Yeah, sure!” Harry replied as he skipped over to him to take his camera. “And can you take one of me after?”

“Sure!”

Liam stuck his hands in his pockets and posed with an open-mouthed smile, then grabbed Harry's disposable camera. Harry smiled wide as he pointed his finger to try and make it look like the low sun shone at the tip, though Liam had to redirect him a few times to make sure he got the perspective right.

“He's been doing that everywhere we've gone,” Zayn remarked to Louis with a laugh.

“Thanks!” Harry told Liam as he took his camera back. Then he whispered loudly, “Zayn never likes to take pictures, but I capture him when he's not looking.”

“Haha, Louis just likes to take stupid pictures,” Liam replied.

“Hey, I heard that!” Louis snapped as he approached Harry and Liam.

“Hey, let me take a picture of you and Zayn! You guys are best mates, right?” Harry asked Louis.

Zayn smiled. “Yeah, come on, bro!”

He swung an arm around Louis's neck and they both posed against the pink horizon, putting up 'Westside' hand gestures and sticking out their tongues.

“Really?” Liam laughed. “What even is that?”

“Shut up, Liam!” was all Louis managed to say after turning red.

Zayn raised an eyebrow at Louis, then looked over at Liam. Then back to Louis.

“Shut up, Zayn!” Louis barked.

“I di'n't say anything!” Zayn protested.

“Is anyone else hungry?” Harry asked with a floppy, wide grin.

\----

After getting back to the main city of Oslo and wandering around to see the sights of the city centre, the foursome ate dinner and relaxed back in their hotel lounge.

"Hey, Liam, wanna play a game?" Louis asked from his perch on the arm of a sofa, where Liam and Harry were properly sat next to each other.

"How could I refuse?" Liam returned with a wide grin as he looked up at Louis.

"Ooh, what kind of game are we playing?" Harry asked, eagerly sitting up on his end of the sofa.

Louis stared over at him. "Are you certain you'd like to play?"

"Shall we tell him the rules?" Liam asked Louis.

"I'm sure it'll be something stupid," Zayn muttered as he reclined in his arm chair, closest to Louis.

"How can you say such a thing before we've even started?" Louis gasped.

"But if they knew the rules, wouldn't they notice we've already started?" Liam added.

"I don't quite understand this game..." Harry remarked with a narrow-eyed look.

"That's cos it's a stupid game, Harry," Zayn told him as he folded his arms.

"Did you hear them insult our game?" Louis asked Liam.

"What if they're the types of blokes that are rubbish at having a laugh?" Liam played.

"Or maybe you two are a couple of idiots," Zayn called out.

"Can I join the game still?" Harry asked with a goofy grin. Then he whispered to Liam in a low voice, "Am I playing this right?"

"What do you think, Tommo?" Liam asked.

"Is the sky blue?" Louis returned with a goofy grin.

Liam giggled. Then Harry laughed, although he sounded a bit unsure.

"Please, am I the only one here with a rational sense of humour?" Zayn moaned to no one in particular. "Aw, dammit!"

"Zayn loses!" Louis shouted as he leapt over to jump on top of Zayn.

"I wasn't playing!" Zayn groaned with a bit of a laugh at the end.

"You replied with a question—that means you joined the game,” Louis said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, sod off with your rubbish games. How does Liam even stand being with a massive dork like you 24/7?" Zayn questioned with a playful flick at Louis's nose.

Liam shot a warm look to Louis. "Quite easily now, actually."

"Oh, really?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Harry, are you still playing?" Louis interrogated with narrowed eyes.

"Are _you_ still playing?" Harry replied with a devious stare.

Zayn rolled his eyes as he rested his head back against his seat.

  
The next morning, the four of them parted ways with hugs at the departure section of the airport.

“May the best team win!” Liam cheered.

“That's us, by the way,” Louis smugly added as he crossed his arms and tilted his head towards Liam.

Zayn creased his brow. “I thought that was you and me, bro!”

“Well, yeah, if we were together! But right now, it's me and Liam!”

Liam smiled at this. “Good luck, you two! I'll come see you in Manchester soon after this is over, Harry!”

“And you'll come visit Louis—and me, too, won't you?” Zayn added with a look that Liam could only describe as... sly.

Liam glanced over to Louis, then answered. “Oh, well, yeah...” He tried not to let the warm tingling in his cheeks betray him. “After all, Niall goes to uni in Leeds, so I'd be going up there, anyway.”

“Right, Niall!” Louis nearly shouted. “Almost forgot about that pleasant Irish lad—you think he's anywhere near the finish line as well?”

 

\----

It was a misty, grey afternoon when Liam and Louis emerged from the plane at Glasgow International Airport. Liam wore a jumper for the first time in weeks. Louis was cosy in his own grey jumper and black beanie, and he actually wore socks on his feet.

“You smell that, Liam?” Louis exhaled with closed eyes.

“What?”

“That delicious British air! It's good to be back on the homeland! Well, sort of.”

It had just dawned onto Liam how close they were—not just to finishing the race in London, but close to Wolverhampton as well. They had literally gone around the entire world. It felt like they just set off, and yet he's already almost home.

Liam and Louis's only clue of what to do next was to go to Kilchurn Castle, and they had to manage their own transportation. They took a 2 ½ hour bus ride to the Arrochar Cottages and had to walk the rest of the way, since Kilchurn Castle is only accessible on foot through a path off the A83. It was just one mile of a walk that provided a beautiful view of Loch Awe, even under an overcast sky. The water was still and peaceful, bordered by vibrant, grassy green hills and looming mountains.

Kilchurn Castle, built in the 15 th  century, is a stone edifice surrounded by grass and rocks, consisting of two large towers, moss and vines crocheted on the crumbling walls, and black marks of past devastation and ruin still apparent. A burly, bearded man in a red jumper greeted Liam and Louis outside the castle wall with his own camera crew.

“Hi, lads! M'name's Greg. Your objective here is to play a bit of a game of hide and seek. One of you will be blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location on these castle grounds, hidden away, and the other will have to find them. But the seeker must only follow the clues and directions that the hidden partner tells them, over a radio transceiver. You can't just go looking for them yourself, and we'll be monitoring ya.”

Liam warily raised his hand.

“Ah, yes—how will you know how to give clues if you're blindfolded? Well, that's the challenge. Use your heads, mates,” Greg answered with a smug look. “Discuss who's going to be the hider and the seeker, and then we'll get started right away.”

Liam turned to Louis. “Maybe I should be the one to hide.”

“No offence, Liam, but I don't trust you to give directions,” Louis replied.

Liam scoffed. “Really? After I've been the one doing the most navigating on this race?”

“Yeah, with a map,” Louis argued with a raised eyebrow. “You've got no natural sense of direction.”

“And you do?” Liam questioned.

Louis put his hands on his hips. “I can do this, Liam. Trust me.”

Liam stared at him for a few seconds, noting the serious gaze. He nodded his head. “Okay...”

Louis smiled.

“But have you got a strategy? You're going to be blindfolded. Maybe you should—”

“I'll work it out, Liam. Don't fret,” Louis answered.

“So, have we reached a decision?” Greg asked as he approached them.

“I'm going to be the one hiding,” Louis announced as he stepped closer to Greg.

“Very well, lads. Let's get started then, shall we?”

Louis had a black scarf wrapped and tied over his eyes, and was given a radio transceiver and a small camera to pin onto his jumper before Greg walked him into the castle grounds. Liam had to face the opposite direction and close his eyes as this was being done. Ten minutes later, Greg finally returned to meet Liam.

“Liam, here's your radio. Press this button every time you want to talk. But let it go so you can hear Louis. Remember—don't make any moves unless Louis tells you to.”

The transceiver beeped right after.

“Liam, can you hear me?” Louis's voice was a bit muffled by the radio crackle.

Liam pressed the button on the side of his transceiver. “Yeah, Louis.”

“Good. You're going to go inside that courtyard, and walk...ten paces forward.”

Liam did as told and waited for the next instructions.

“Now turn right, and watch your step. Keep going for another few seconds.”

“These aren't very precise directions,” Liam muttered.

“Oh, shut it, Liam,” Louis growled. “I'm somewhere cold and dark. Stone all around. It's a bit claustrophobic. Is that giving you any clues?”

“I'm still in the grass courtyard,” Liam replied as he looked around at the walls that had been standing here for hundreds of years,.

“Then just keep following my directions,” Louis told him.

Liam was led up a tower, back down the tower, through the courtyard again, and up a second tower. Still no sign of Louis.

“So you're going to turn and go back down the stairs, and then—”

“You do realise that you're taking me in circles,” Liam told Louis.

“I'm telling you exactly where I was taken!” Louis retorted. “And I'm the one who has to—oh god, there are spiders down here! Oh shit!”

“Louis, are you okay?!”

“Just get here quick!”

“Well, I don't know where you are! I need you to help me out,” Liam spoke into his transceiver. This place isn't that big... Where the hell is Louis?

“What's the liability against poisonous spider bites? I didn't get that far into the fine print!” Louis squeaked.

“I'm going down the stairs,” Liam said. “Where do I go next?”

“Oh fuck!” Louis screamed.

“What? What is it?” Liam quickly replied.

“Hey, they didn't have any rules about screaming, right? Like... that's somewhat a way of telling you where I am.”

“Let me ask.” Liam turned to the cameraman behind him.

“The rules are that you must only follow your partner's instructions,” the cameraman explained.

Liam nodded, then pressed the button on his transceiver. “Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.”

“Okay! Well, keep your ears open and walk toward the screaming and get me the fuck out of here already!” Louis shouted.

A second later, Liam heard a faint ringing sound.

“Louis!” he called out as he ran back into the stone courtyard. He heard the echo of a scream, but still saw nothing. He walked into one of the ruined buildings and felt a lot colder where there was barely any light and there were windows along the walls—really, just huge square holes.

“Louis, what was it like right before you got to where you are now?”

“Cold. Stone. I had to crouch down and almost crawl to get where I am.”

“Okay.”

“I'm going to scream again, so you just follow that, okay, Liam?”

“Yeah.”

Liam went through the stone corridor, barely able to see anything himself. The screaming got louder. Finally he moved into another chamber where there were open cubes of space indented into the wall. When he came across what looked like a fireplace, he spotted the top of Louis's head, his black beanie the indicator. Liam approached the space and saw that Louis still had the scarf over his eyes.

He had just taken a deep breath before he was about to start screaming again, when Liam quickly lunged over and placed a hand on Louis's shoulder.

“Ahh!” Louis shrieked and jumped where he sat.

“It's me, Louis,” Liam quickly told him as he gently squeezed at his shoulder.

Louis brought his hands up and pulled the scarf down from his eyes. He turned his head and saw Liam. Then the colour went back into his face, and a gentle smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

“Thank God,” Louis breathed out, his voice thin from all the screaming.

“Let me help you out of here,” Liam said as he extended both his arms for Louis to grab onto. Louis grabbed one of his hands, then pushed himself off of the stone wall before Liam reached around his waist and pulled him out of the cell.

“I am never doing something like that ever again!” Louis shouted as they walked back into the naturally lit courtyard. “Things with lots of legs crawling all over me! Spiders!” He shuddered from the bottom of his spine up to his shoulders.

“It's all right... You're out of there now,” Liam comforted as he hugged Louis and grasped his head. He dusted the cobwebs and rubble out of his beanie and his hair, then stroked his fingers through Louis's pointy, tangled ends as he rested his cheek against Louis's temple.

“Can we go get a drink?” Louis asked as he clung to Liam in return.

“Yeah,” Liam replied as he moved from him, then wrapped an arm around his waist. Louis stiffened as he saw that cameras were still there.

Liam started to pull away—but Louis turned and grasped his waist in return. He glanced up at Liam and curved his mouth into a smile. He relaxed his shoulders, melding into Liam's side. “Thanks, Liam.”

After receiving their final itinerary to London, they took a bus ride into the city of Glasgow, the greater part of which Louis was slumped asleep on Liam's shoulder. They finally checked into their hostel just a minute's walk from Bath Street, and just as Liam promised, he and Louis went to a pub, had a couple pints of beer, and made celebratory toasts for being so close to the finish line of this race.

 

\----

England had never looked so foreign to Liam. He and Louis were already three hours into their train ride, and though he was travelling through the same fields and hills he'd passed several times over, none of it gave him a sense of welcome. Perhaps he was so anxious about getting to London on time, that none of it seemed real.

“Would you like to play a game?” Louis asked as he tapped at Liam's thigh.

Liam sighed. “I'm not in the mood to play any games right now.”

Louis flattened his eyes. “What's got into you?”

“This is it,” Liam answered, feeling his heart pound. “We're going to find out if we've won or not. It's going to be over.”

“So?” Louis asked.

Liam frowned. “So... It's a bit nerve-racking. My entire life could change. Or it might not.”

“I don't know why you're getting so worked up about it. We're already on our train. There's not much we can do now 'til we get to London.”

Liam deeply inhaled. “I didn't think it would end so soon.”

Louis adjusted himself on the seat where he sat criss-crossed. “All the more reason we should be having fun our last day.”

Liam felt a punch to his chest. This was not only the last day of the race. It was his last day with Louis.

He snapped out of his anxious thoughts when he felt Louis poke him on the side of his head.

“Get that pathetic look off your face,” Louis grumbled. He looked a bit tense, too.

“Louis, if we don't win, what's going to happen to us?” Liam asked.

Louis blinked. “We already talked about this. You'll go visit me in Doncaster for tea.”

Liam tilted his head with a serious gaze. “But realistically... How are we going to keep this working? I mean, are you going to visit me, too? How long do you think we can last in a long-distance relationship—I mean, is this even going to be a relationship—” Liam covered his face with his hands. “See, there's so much that we don't have sorted!”

It was a good thing that a camera crew wasn't here at the moment, so that Liam could have this kind of conversation with Louis. Although, that probably wouldn't have stopped him at this point.

“Why are you ruining our last day with all this rubbish talk?” Louis scoffed.

“If we don't talk about it now, when are we going to talk about it?” Liam asked.

“After we get to London, at least!” Louis argued as he stared at Liam. “For Christs's sake, Liam, just stop!”

Liam sighed. “I'm sorry. It's just—”

“I don't know,” Louis interrupted. “To answer all your questions, I don't know...” He gently smiled. “But we'll figure it out. You don't need to have a plan for everything, Liam. Hasn't this experience taught you anything? Just enjoy the moments as they happen.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Liam rested his head on Louis's shoulder. He'd worry later.

Louis slipped his hand into Liam's and laced their fingers, then rested his head onto Liam's New York Yankee-snapback covered head.

“I hate this hat,” Louis muttered, which got Liam softly chuckling again.

 

An hour later, Liam and Louis stopped in at London Euston railway station and met with their camera crew. Then they took the Tube with one transfer to Tower Hill station. They were busy looking at the itinerary once more as they sat in the corner of the crowded train.

“Do you think we have a challenge, or is it just straight to the finish line?” Louis asked Liam.

“All it says is to meet at the foot of Tower Bridge,” Liam replied as he closed the envelope.

“We should hurry, then,” Louis said.

After they exited the station, Liam and Louis decided to run until they got onto the pavement of Tower Bridge. They spotted Scott Mills standing on the steps just below the Victorian Gothic north tower with a camera crew right next to him. Then they made a last dash until they came face to face with Scott, and awaited the news as they caught their breath.

Scott smiled at them. “Louis! Liam! Great to see you lads!”

Liam's heart was racing. He just wanted to know if they had won or not.

Scott cleared his throat. “Now that you have completed your global itinerary, I can inform you that... you are the first team to arrive in London!”

Liam's whole face lit up and his mouth opened wide in shocked delight. He turned to Louis, whose jaw was dropped as well, his eyes wide as he stared over at Liam.

“We won!” Liam cried out.

“We won!” Louis screamed back as he lunged at him. Liam caught him into a strong hold and they hugged and jumped together in celebration, yelling and hooting with excitement.

“Liam and Louis—there's just one more thing we need to let you know...” Scott interrupted.

Liam and Louis exchanged puzzled looks and let each other go as they faced Scott.

“Should you choose to participate, each of you has the opportunity to up the stakes. A footrace up Tower Bridge will grant the winner ₤500,000. But the loser forfeits their half of the original ₤100,000 prize and wins nothing.”

“Wait... so you're asking if we want to race each other for ₤500,000 to have... for ourselves?” Liam asked.

“If not, you can always go home with your share of 100 grand. But should you want to risk it, you can win more. It's 500 grand or nothing. The only hitch is that the both of you have to agree."

"We'll do it!" Louis blurted out, grin on his face.

Liam's eyebrows shot up involuntarily. He hadn't expected Louis to agree, let alone so quickly.

"Well, what about you, Liam?" Scott asked.

Louis looked to him with an eager stare.

"Uh..." Liam had been against the idea from the moment it was brought up.

"Liam?" Scott repeated.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'll do it, too," Liam answered, though it felt like someone else had put the words in his mouth.

"Great! Follow me, and we'll get to the starting line," Scott told them before he turned around.

Louis bumped his knuckles against Liam's arm. "Good luck racing me, Payno!"

Liam half heartedly smiled. "Um, yeah..."

"What's the matter? You already feeling the pressure?" Louis scoffed.

Liam shook his head then forced a laugh. "No. Just... wasn't expecting this, was all."

"Me neither! Isn't this incredible—a chance to win five times as much as the original prize amount! Thanks for getting me this far, Liam. I couldn't have done it without you.”

Liam felt very uneasy about this and how Louis was so eager to race. Did the money mean that much to him? Liam supposed that Louis did have a great need, but wasn't the initial prize enough? Why did he not even take one second to consider the proposal?

They were to start the race from inside the north tower. It was closed off to civilians just for this race, so it was completely empty except for the camera and production crew. Liam looked up, noting all the dimensions of the multiple landings he'd have to climb, wondering how many steps he would have to take to reach the top. And yet, he didn't really care. This all felt surreal. Of course, Louis didn't look phased at all, a grin playing on his lips as he jumped up and down to warm up.

“First one to climb up these stairs and reach the finish line at the top wins,” Scott told them as they waited at the bottom of the stairs. “On your marks... Get set... Go!"

Liam and Louis ran up and up the low-lit staircase, matching each other's speed. After sprinting through stairs, corners, stairs, chambers, and more stairs, Liam could finally see the top of the staircase. The walkway was right there.

He noticed Louis falter a bit, though he still had a fierce look of determination on his face. Liam could easily pass him up, he's not even breaking much of a sweat right now. But—

This feels all wrong.

It feels wrong to be racing against Louis for money. This isn't the way Liam wanted to win this competition. It's like everything they did on this journey to get to this point, it was all for nothing. What even was the point of being partners? Was it all just a reality TV setup from the beginning, to pair him up with someone he butted heads with at first, so that they'd be begging to compete against each other for the prize? Were they never supposed to get on? Was Liam not supposed to feel as conflicted in this moment as he is now?

He looked over at Louis, whose brow was furrowed as he struggled up the steps, determination in his narrowed eyes.

_He clearly wants this more than I do_ , Liam thought.

He slowed his pace as Louis sped up and overtook him before they crested the top of the stairs. Out at the walkway on the bridge was a large, blue ribbon that Louis ran full force into as Liam half-heartedly jogged the remaining steps.

A camera and production crew was waiting up there for the winner, and they honked horns and threw confetti into the air once Louis crossed into their space.

"Yes! I won! I beat Liam! I beat a firefighter up the stairs!" Louis cried out amid the celebration. Cameras, microphones, and crew swarmed him in the narrow space of the walkway corridor. Then a man in a suit immediately handed Louis a giant check.

“Louis, you just won the grand prize of ₤500,000! How do you feel?” a woman with a microphone asked.

“I—I don't know! This is mental!” he laughed as he looked down at the giant check. “I mean, what do you do with 500 grand? Well, I can think of several useless things of course, but this is... I can't tell you how great this feels. Couldn't have done it without beating Liam at a footrace, though, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself! Happy days!”

Liam rolled his eyes. He can't stand this. The way Louis is responding cheekily, and the way this all just feels so phony and exploitative of all their hard work during this whole race. Out of the corner of his eye, a cameraman lurked after him, so he turned around. Any second now, they'd be interviewing him as the loser who came up short.

Liam ripped off his mic and threw it onto the ground. If he can't win, he's at least going to save himself some dignity. He's not going to smile for the cameras anymore—or perhaps they expect him to cry and frown—well, he's not giving them that, either.

"Don't follow me!" Liam barked to the cameraman as he fled down the staircase.

Liam walked until he stopped hearing cheers and only heard the sound of his steps on the stairs echoing through the stairwell. He kept on walking after he got outside and onto the pavement of the bridge. Then he broke into a run towards Tower Hill station.

Perhaps it was too impulsive, to just leave like this without dealing with the aftermath. But Liam didn't want to deal with it. He couldn't. He needed to get away. Everything in his being told him he needed to get away. So that's what he did.

He saw no reason to stay in London—or at least, he felt no desire to be in this city at this exact moment—so he took the Tube back to Euston and bought himself a single-journey train ticket to Wolverhampton. No matter how much he talked of getting away, home was the only place Liam wanted to be at right now.

He expended the last of his and Louis's leftover Glasgow budget to use a telephone just outside the platform gate.

"Liam? What is it now?" Ruth asked on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Ruth! Um, it's nothing serious. Just... I'm going to need a ride from the railway station later today. I'm coming home,” Liam told her.

"Wow—that was—so you're done with the competition? Liam, does that mean you've—"

"Um, I'll tell you all about it when I get home. Next train leaves in fifteen minutes.”

There was a pause.

"Okay, Liam. Are you sure you're all right?"

Liam breathed out before answering. "Yeah, I'm good. Can't wait to see you."

"When does your train arrive?"

"Eight-twenty."

"I'll be there.”

"Thanks, Ruth. Love you."

"Love you, too!"

Liam deeply exhaled. A sudden weariness overtook him. He felt done, down to every last nerve in every limb, down to the bone. He was haggard, dirty, oily, stiff in his muscles, and there was something uncomfortable in his skin that he couldn't quite shake.

He walked to the platform gate and slipped his ticket into the machine to gain access, then boarded his train. He slumped down into an empty car and closed his eyes.

That was it. It's over. He's going back home.

 

\----

Although it was mid-July, the sky was a smudgy grey and it looked like it would rain at any minute. Back to a regular English summer, Liam supposed as he stared out the kitchen window, porcelain cup of steaming coffee in his hand. He had taken all the warm, tropical countries he travelled to for granted.

Ruth had been kind enough to let Liam stay over, since he had sublet his own flat for the month. Immediately after she picked him up from the railway station, Liam showered, got all his clothes washed, and slept a full night in a comfy bed with a duvet that smelt just like his childhood home. The next morning he pulled on his favourite maroon jumper from the guest closet where Ruth had stored a small wardrobe for him to take from every time he stayed over. There was a great sense of comfort in finally having all the things he was used to at home.

Yet there was still a small, annoying pit in his stomach. Liam hoped it was just homesickness for his own flat.

That night, he had dinner with his parents and his sisters, who interrogated him about his travels. He didn't exactly lie by telling them how much of a good time he had on the trip, and it wasn't a lie that he and Niall hadn't won the race. He just omitted getting thrown together with Louis. Falling for Louis. And falling short of winning this competition because the person who won was Louis.

"I'm just so proud of you—going all over the world, seeing amazing things—it's more than I ever did when I was your age!" his dad had praised as he grabbed his shoulder.

His mum added in a tearful voice—she was actually tearful most of the night—"My little boy, you are so brave to go that long away from home!"

"Mum..." his sisters groaned.

"What—he's the baby! And he's the one who's left the farthest from home! I was worried I wasn't going to ever see him again!" She started blubbering all over again and went over to hug Liam into a choke hold.

That night, Liam felt loved all over again. He didn't have to wonder if their affection was real or unconditional. That was the great thing about family. And that was why, although he'd like to leave Wolverhampton, he could never leave for good. But perhaps he won't have to even worry about that now.

\----

Once he lied down to sleep, all the warmth and love he felt from seeing his family faded. There was that pit in his stomach again. And he knew it wasn't homesickness.

It was Louis.

For the hundredth time, he thought about Louis and how stupid he was to fall for him. How stupid, to think that Louis wouldn't jump at the chance to win 500 grand all for himself, if all he had to do was beat Liam in a footrace. Although, he couldn't blame him. What was Liam compared to ₤500,000? Just someone that Louis had been occasionally snogging for less than two weeks.

The most annoying part about all of this was that Liam couldn't bring himself to hate Louis or to regret any of it, up until Tower Bridge anyway. All those moments, the way he felt, it was all real. It was real happiness he felt when he was with Louis. When Louis made him laugh. When they played games together. When they stole kisses from each other. When they had won the race together.

And how strange it is to even smile at those memories now, Liam thought to himself as he reached a hand up to smooth his dimples.

But just how much of it was real? What was “it” anyway? A _thing_ , Louis had called it. What's a “thing?” Were they just snogging partners? Friends with benefits? Were they even really friends? What if Louis was never serious about any of it? What if—

Liam stopped himself from going further into that neverending abyss of what-ifs. He could go over a million possibilities and he still wouldn't get any answers. So he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to descend.

Liam had been thinking about all this again as he stood in front of the kitchen window, his coffee having turned cold now.

“You all right?” Ruth asked as she sat down at the kitchen table and had a bit of toast.

Liam shook his head to bring himself back to reality, then smiled over at her. “Yeah, I'm fine.”

Ruth pursed her lips and carefully stared at him.

Liam laughed. “Roo, I'm great! I'm just... still a bit gutted that I didn't win the race.”

Ruth sighed. “You sure that's it?”

Liam swallowed. “...I feel guilty as well—you know, about borrowing all that money from you. It'll take me a few weeks to pay you back, sorry.”

“Liam, don't worry about it!” Ruth said before she stood up, then kissed the top of his head. “After I get home from work, we should do something fun. What do you think?”

“Sure,” Liam grinned, dimples forming in his cheeks.

He felt bad for not talking to Ruth about Louis. They were so close, he could talk to her about almost anything. But this was too painful. And humiliating. And he wasn't even sure he wanted to talk about it. He'd probably never see Louis again. Or if he did, it'd probably be on the cover of a magazine, as a feature on the winner of Around the World in 30 Days. Perhaps Liam might get featured on a small square at the corner of the page as the runner-up.

Liam's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered that it was a reality television show he participated in, and that the show would air on the telly and on the internet, and basically all over the world. Then literally everyone would know he and Louis were partners—so there really was no way out of eventually talking about him.

Liam drank the last bitter sips of his coffee, then decided to go for a run to clear his head. He needed to get back to his regular training regime, after all. Now that he had won nothing. Now that he still only had his firefighter dreams.

He poured himself back into running, lifting weights, boxing, and trained hours on end. He was glad to get back into his routine again. He was glad to spend such a large portion of the day burning and conditioning his muscles until he was so exhausted that he'd just shower and have a nap as soon as he was done.

It was all he could do to keep himself from thinking about Louis, from going over each of their moments, wondering what was real, what was not, what he might have misread. It was only when he stopped moving that it all came rushing back to him.

 

On the third morning since Liam had been back in Wolverhampton, he set out for a run and heard a rumble in the sky as soon as he stepped out. A few drops were coming down—which was fine. It wasn't like it was the first time he'd ran in the rain. Although he didn't want to get his shirt soaked, so he stripped of it and left it on the porch. He put the headphones of his iPod into his ears and raised the volume high.

Liam ran for ten miles around the suburbs of his town, not stopping even once. He put each foot in front of the other onto the pavement for an hour until his lungs burned, and kept on going. Even with light rain falling onto him and getting into his eyes, nose, mouth, and trainers, he just focused on running until he circled back to where he started.

When he finally rounded the corner of Ruth's block, he spotted a glossy, black Mercedes parked in front of her flat. Looked like one of those chauffeur cars. Just outside of it were two men with large video cameras directed toward the porch. And sitting on the porch was someone with cinnamon-coloured hair, arms crossed and resting over his knees.

Louis.

Liam's heart stuttered.

He slowed to a jog as he approached the flat, then took out his headphones. He looked between the Mercedes and Louis, then edged up the cement path, still catching his breath.

Louis looked up and met his eyes. He immediately stood up and dusted off his jeans. He gave Liam a hard gaze, his jaw visibly clenched.

Liam stopped halfway through the path and wiped the raindrops from his nose and eyes. Breathing heavily, he gasped out, "Louis, what are you doing here?"

Louis kept his hard stare as he replied, "I should ask you the same question. What the fuck, Liam?"

Liam narrowed his eyes. "You're serious? And really, with the cameras? What, are you here to rub it in my face that you won? Get some more good bits for the show?"

"God, you're still such a stroppy bastard," Louis sneered. "I thought you'd been cured of that by now."

"Stroppy? Yes, I suppose I'm a bit stroppy because I was stupid enough to think that what we had between us actually meant something to you."

"What? Liam, it _did_ mean something!" Louis growled. "It still—ugh, just—Can we please just talk, in private?"

Liam frowned, then walked past Louis.

"Liam," Louis whispered as he turned and grabbed at his arm.

Liam turned around and met his eyes—there was a softness in them, burning into him once more. He felt his heart swell. He looked down and sighed.

"Please. Just—five minutes,” Louis persisted.

"No cameras,” Liam muttered.

“Of course, no cameras.” Louis turned back to the men at the car and made a shaking gesture of his palm across his throat.

Liam huffed a sigh as he walked the remaining steps onto Ruth's front porch. He took out the keys from the pocket of his shorts and unlocked the door. “Get in."

Louis nodded, then put his hands into his pockets as he walked across the threshold. Liam shut the door behind them and locked it. Louis stood just in the small space in front of the doorway and casually studied the pictures on the wall. Liam stomped past him and threw his iPod down onto the tan, suede couch in the living room. He looked down as he clamped his hands onto the back cushions.

"Why did you run away, Liam?" Louis quietly asked as he turned toward Liam.

Liam remained silent.

"Liam," Louis said, louder this time, as he stepped up to him. "Why the fuck did you run all the way from Tower Bridge directly to Wolverhampton? I had barely crossed the finish line for ten seconds before I'd turned around and saw that you'd vanished."

"You didn't even hesitate," Liam said as he kept his eyes down.

"What?"

"When they asked if you wanted to race me for the money, you didn't hesitate.” Liam looked up at Louis, his jaw tight with frustration.

“You're angry that I won the race...” Louis muttered as he looked at his own feet.

Liam scoffed. “It's not that! We had already won when we got to Tower Bridge, Louis! But you wanted more—for yourself—and I only went along with it because, well, if you were that willing to compete against me—well... then what was the point of everything?” Liam hadn't realised his voice had become so loud until he heard it echo from the walls.

“Liam, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I had to race against you for it—well, of course I was willing to do that! I don't know why you're taking it so personally, though!” Louis growled.

“How am I not supposed to take it personally? Or did I read everything wrong?” Liam boomed. “Our 'thing'... was any of it even real?”

“Of course it was real!” Louis shouted.

“Then why wasn't it enough to win together?” Liam quietly asked.

Louis furrowed his brow."Oh god. Liam, you think—that's why—"

Liam creased his brow at this. Louis wasn't being very articulate.

"Liam—" Louis stopped and slapped a hand to his forehead. "If you had stayed there for one more minute, you idiot, then you would have realised what I was doing!"

Liam raised his eyebrows. “Please, enlighten me!”

Louis put his hands on his hips and made sure to look Liam square in the eye. "From the moment I agreed to the footrace, I was always planning on splitting the earnings. I figured that no matter which one of us won the footrace, we would just split the prize. At least, I had hoped that you would be willing to split the prize if you won. There! Is it all cleared up for you now?"

Liam's eyes widened and he stood in silence for a few seconds. "Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh_ ," Louis sneered.

"So..."

"So, you and I are the recipients of 500 grand,” Louis said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, you have 250 to decide what to do with, and I'm splitting my half with Zayn—point is, we won the race, Liam. And I've come to drag your arse back to London so we can sign the paperwork. Zayn and Harry are still there. They got there just a couple hours after we did. Niall's not got back yet. Of course, I think by now he's just taking advantage of the situation and having himself a proper holiday, so I wouldn't expect him for another week," Louis laughed.

It was all a lot for Liam to take in, now that the reality he had lived in for the past three days got completely flipped around to a much better one. Louis didn't secretly hate him. He didn't sell him out. And they won 500 grand.

"God I feel like a proper imbecile now," Liam moaned as he put both of his hands over his face.

"Why were you so quick to believe I'd sell you out?” Louis asked, his eyes narrowed into slits at Liam. “After everything we've been through—after all the things we talked about?"

Liam looked down and shrugged. "I don't know... I mean, we couldn't stand each other in the beginning, and that argument we had on the train, and I guess... I was waiting for you to realise that you'd made a mistake. That you didn't really like me. And then there was a way for you to win this and leave me behind, so I thought that when you agreed so quickly—that it just meant that you cared more about winning this race than... me."

"Liam, how could you think that?” Louis's eyes looked pained. “Winning this race doesn't mean anything if I don't have you."

Liam mentally berated himself as he closed his eyes.

“Why did you leave?” Louis shouted. “Why wouldn't you at least want to talk about it? You just left! I mean, you fucking hated me at the beginning—for all I knew, you hated me again. What else was I supposed to think after you'd run away right after I won the race?”

His eyes looked red now, and Liam felt like his heart had cracked just looking at the pure anguish on his face.

“I never hated you,” Liam breathed out. “I might have wanted to slap you at times, but hate you? Never. Not even if you had really sold me out. I could never hate you, Louis.” He gave him a warm look. “You still came to Wolverhampton for me... Why?”

Louis swallowed and looked down. “Well, I'm not a complete arsehole, Liam. We were partners in this race, and you deserved half the prize, like always. Even if you wanted nothing to do with me again...”

“Well, I don't. Not want to do nothing with you—I mean—bollocks, I'm not even speaking English—” Liam ducked his head and winced as he looked over at Louis, who was eyeing him carefully. He breathed out a big sigh. “Louis, these past three days I've been absolutely miserable, and I'm pretty sure it's because I'm in love with you, and I haven't really been able to stop thinking about you, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, and you probably don't want anything to do with an idiot like me, but... is there any chance that you would still have me now?”

Louis raised his chin and stared Liam down as he crossed his arms. "Maybe."

Liam kept his head bowed as he stared at Louis from under bent eyebrows.

"Don't give me that pathetic look!" Louis snapped as he furrowed his brow. "I spent three days getting all this legal stuff in order, then I had to track you down, talk to your sister—who shouted my ear off, by the way, when she guessed that it was my fault that you were acting so miserable—then I came all the way to Wolverhampton and I had to wait half an hour on your porch—and you had the gall to show up shirtless and sweaty with your hair doing that sexy thing when it gets a bit damp in the front—and then I poured out my fucking heart to you, told you winning doesn't mean anything if I don't have you—which is basically a euphemism for saying I'm in love with you— _and you still have to ask_?"

Liam grinned. Although it had only been three days, he had terribly missed seeing Louis's face, his piercing blue eyes, the way his face scrunches up when he gets frustrated, the way a grin creeps up on his mouth when he tries his hardest to conceal it with a frown.

"Why do you always do that? Give me that disgusting smile when I'm berating you?" Louis asked with a shake of his head. His frown broke into a small laugh.

"I missed you," Liam told him with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I missed you, too. Arse."

"I really am sorry, Louis—"

Louis planted a palm over Liam's eyes and pinched at his nose, making him whine.

Louis stuck out his lower lip. "What did I say about making pathetic faces like that?"

They were very close now, and Louis slid his hand under Liam's jaw. Liam reached down and placed a palm on the small of Louis's back as he brought his other hand behind his head. Louis hesitated and breathed in deep before leaning his chin up. Liam bent his head down and gently brought his lips to Louis's mouth. They went slow at first, lips barely parted, then Louis brought a hand to grasp at Liam's side and pushed harder with his mouth. Liam nuzzled a bit at Louis's nose with his own, feeling the pointed tips of his hair tickle his eyelids. He opened his mouth so Louis licked over his lower lip, and with one last additional, aggressive, desperate, breath-consuming kiss, they finally let go, smiling and shaking at either end.

"Now come back to London with me!" Louis said as he pulled at Liam's hands and started to tug him towards the front door.

"I will! But—Louis, I should probably put some clothes on first," Liam laughed as he held back, his feet planted into the carpet.

"I think you look just fine. Better than fine! You're fit as fuck," Louis remarked as he looked Liam's body up and down.

"But I'm all sweaty and I've been running in the rain—shouldn't I at least shower first?" Liam asked with a laugh.

"Excellent idea! I'll help you!" Louis tugged at Liam's hands again and walked through the halls of the flat, stealing kisses every few seconds.

"Are we really about to do this?" Liam laughed. "Wait—what about those people waiting outside?"

"They can wait!" Louis retorted as he finally located the bathroom. He released Liam so he could tear off his own t-shirt. "I’ve already done so much waiting, and you show up looking like this. You should know by now that I'm not capable of much restraint!"

Louis pushed Liam through the half-open door and Liam only caught himself from stumbling by catching onto the towel rack on the wall. He giggled as Louis advanced on him with a ravenous look, kicking the door closed behind him.

 

\----

4 MONTHS LATER

 

"Hello, I am Scott Mills, host of Around the World in 30 Days and we are here with your favourites from Season 8! First up, we have the winners of Season 8, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne! How are you, lads?”

“Great,” Louis answered.

“Fantastic!” Liam beamed.

"So what have you guys been up to since then?"

Louis and Liam exchanged glances with each other.

"Well, Scott," Louis started, "I now manage my very own youth football club in Doncaster and I'm well on my way to getting my teaching degree in six months."

“And I've applied for uni!” Liam announced with a grin. “Hope to start courses in the Spring.”

“Good on you both! So now that you've had a chance to watch the series on the telly, what did you think? Any favourite moments or places that you visited?”

"I quite liked Mexico,” Louis answered as he looked over at Liam.

"Mexico was ace," Liam conceded as he gazed back at him.

"And there's only ten minutes of footage from it, although you two were stranded there for over two days. You know, that's the question we've received the most on Twitter—what the bloody hell happened in Mexico?" Scott asked with a laugh.

"A lot," Liam seriously answered.

"So much," Louis added with a cheeky grin.

"You two feckers shagged, didn't you?" Niall blurted out from his perch at the end of his couch, where he sat next to Harry and Zayn. Liam and Louis, who had their own couch to themselves, went crimson in the face as everyone else in the studio turned to Niall.

"What? These two are currently shacking up! Have to live with their bleedin' happiness shoved in my face e'ryday!" Niall frowned and shook his head.

"Yeah, it's pretty gross," Zayn added with a snicker, sitting directly to Louis's right. "The way they smile at each other like the sun shines out of the other's arse—more like Liam's face, though, in Louis's case."

"Th-that's private information that should not be shared with the entire world, Zayn!" Louis chastised.

"Mexico was great. End quote," Liam added.

Scott laughed. "Well then, I won't pry any more! To their left on the other couch, we have Zayn and Harry! The runners-up! How are you boys?

"Great, thank you," Harry responded with a slow grin.

"Never better," Zayn nodded.

"Quite an interesting team you made as well. So much bad luck in the beginning!"

Zayn laughed. "Yeah, it was quite tough at the beginning, what with all the delays, the missed flights—this one over here letting me oversleep in an airport."

"It was a misunderstanding!” Harry protested. “I thought we had more time to—"

"Relax, Harry—you know I don't give a shit about that any more," Zayn told him with a fond caress of his curls. Harry beamed back at him, letting his eyes close, like a cat getting scratched on the head.

"Yes, you two did bicker quite a bit at the beginning. But I think this clip was probably our favourite, when you two spent time at Baker Beach in San Francisco," Scott told the audience.

"Oh god..." Zayn moaned.

"Hey, that was a fun time!" Harry bumped a knuckle against Zayn's shoulder.

_"In order to obtain the Express Pass, you two must take part in an unofficial San Franciscan custom: spend an hour at Baker Beach—nude.”_

_Zayn quickly shook his head. "No way! I am not getting naked!"_

_"What? Why not?" Harry whined._

“ _Wha'd'ya mean why not, Harry?” Zayn protested._

_"Zayn, we need this Express Pass,” Harry pleaded. “And all we have to do is take off our clothes. Easy!”_

_"Everyone's goin' to see my bits on the telly! No! No. There's no way. I can't do this."_

_"Don't be silly, Zayn! They'll probably blur out your entire nether region," Harry comforted. “And besides, you shouldn't be ashamed of your body."_

_"I'm not ashamed!" Zayn blushed over his high cheekbones. "It's just... well... I'm not comfortable with being naked in front of people in public."_

_"It's no bother to me. I think it's quite liberating. And fresh." Harry turned his head and then pointed to a naked, elderly man standing atop a large boulder. "Look—he doesn't mind, either!"_

_"He's mental!"_

_"Look, Zayn, I'll do it!" Harry immediately ripped off his white vest top, stripped off his black skinny jeans, and finally pulled off his boxers with a flourish._

_Zayn glanced at Harry shortly, then to the camera, then he swallowed._

_"Come on, Zayn, you can do this," Harry encouraged._

_"I'm sorry, mum," Zayn muttered before pulling off his t-shirt and then his blue jeans. He hesitated with a hand over the band of his boxers. He took in a deep breath, then finally pulled down his boxers and immediately placed his hands over his penis._

_"Yes, Zayn! We did it! We got the Express Pass!" Harry cheered as he jumped up and down. He leapt over to Zayn and threw his arms around his shoulders._

_"Harry, please don't hug me when we're both stark bloody naked!" Zayn protested as he curled inward towards his groin._

_Harry laughed. "How about a high five?"_

_Zayn quickly reached up and high fived Harry before replacing his hand over his penis._

The footage then showed Harry and Zayn walking around the beach—mostly standing around awkwardly in Zayn's case.

Louis was still cackling by the time the video ended. "Zayn, you are so awkward! 'Sorry Mummy'!" He imitated the drawn-down mouth and the scared, bug-eyed look Zayn had had in the video clip.

"Like you would have done it!" Zayn argued as he threw a small throw pillow at Louis's face.

"You've actually become a bit of a celebrity on the internet, though, haven't you?" Scott interjected. "I heard you got a modelling offer after this episode aired."

Zayn shrugged as he scratched his chin.

"Check this out," Scott said as he pointed to the screen, which immediately popped up with an image of Zayn posing for an underwear ad with a smoldering look in his eyes.

Niall made a wolf whistle. Harry's eyes grew twice their size.

"Zayn! Does your mum know about this?" Louis playfully chided.

Zayn covered his face with his hands. "It's to help pay for school!"

"Okay, enough with humiliating Zayn. Now's the time to laugh at Harry. We've compiled a series of clips of him falling over."

"There were that many?" Harry asked with an amused grin creeping on his mouth.

"Twenty-four, to be exact. How you survived this journey is a miracle," Scott half-jokingly replied.

The screen lit up, showcasing a series of clips of Harry tumbling over, slipping, hitting various body parts against innocent posts, buildings, and other inanimate objects—and even one instance of Zayn saving Harry from almost catching on fire—in a farmer's market.

"It's really more of a compilation of Zayn saving you from certain death, Harry," Louis snickered after the clip ended.

"Someone should put him in a plastic bubble," Liam added.

Harry stuck his tongue out at the both of them.

"Quit being so mean to the poor lad!" Niall scolded. "But really, Harry, maybe you should invest in a helmet."

"Ha ha," Harry replied in a morbid tone.

"Let's get to Niall!" Scott resumed. "What a delightful lad to watch! You and Stacey, of course—who isn't here because she's at uni back in the States and couldn't make the trip out here. You two were quite entertaining—failed most of your challenges and had yourselves a proper four-week holiday. And because of that, the executive producers have decided that they are going to have to revise the rules."

Niall let out a guffaw. "Hey, we got here on day thirty!"

Everyone else laughed.

"I think we all should have taken Niall's cue," Zayn added as he smiled over at him. "Would have been a lot less stress for us. Would have got to spend more time in cool places."

Harry nodded in assent.

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't have won," Liam interjected as he smirked to Louis. "And I think we still had a fun time."

"If you had it all to do over, and you were able to do this race with your original partner, would you?" Scott directed this question to all of the boys.

Liam and Louis glanced at each other and then looked back to Scott at the same time. "No," they answered in unison.

"Awwww," Harry and Niall cooed.

"Well, that's easy to say for the winners!" Scott laughed. "What about the rest of you?"

Zayn looked over at Harry and grabbed his shoulder. "Well, Harry's the only person that could have got me to get naked at a public beach, let alone on international television, so I owe a lot to the lad for getting us that far. Plus, he's real good company to have around."

"Aww, Zayn... You're the best partner I could have had, too. You know how smart he is? Genius, I say. And as you saw, I literally wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Zayn. Plus, he's just so good-looking. Had a great view everywhere I went."

"Stop it..." Zayn said as he ducked his head and pushed at Harry's shoulder.

"Niall?"

"Well, I would have loved to travel with my man Payno, but then he wouldn't have had his experience with Louis and they would have missed out on each other. There's no way I would take that from him."

"Niall... that's very sweet," Liam warmly smiled.

"Top lad, you are!" Louis loudly clapped.

"And because of the switch-up," Niall continued, "Now I've got three more best mates near me."

"That's true! If it weren't for visiting Zayn, and Louis and Liam spending so much time with Zayn, and Niall being best mates with Liam, me and Niall probably wouldn't have had the chance to become such close friends," Harry remarked with a disheartened stare.

Niall clapped a hand over Harry's shoulder. “I'm sure we would have found each other somehow, Harry.”

Harry beamed over at Niall, and Louis cooed, “Aw, look at those two—attached to the hip now, you know!”

"Still not as inseparable as you disgusting lovebirds," Zayn muttered as he rose an eyebrow at him and Liam.

Louis scoffed. “Don't act as if you don't love having Liam around all the time! I spend about as much time alone with Liam as we spend together with you!”

Zayn tilted his head and shrugged. “Yeah, that's true...”

"You and Liam really were the heart of this season, though," Scott warmly told Louis. "What do you think you had that the other teams didn't that allowed you to win this race?"

Liam and Louis eyed each other in silent consideration.

"Well, Liam's a firefighter. I told you from the beginning: shoe-in to win," Louis answered with a purse of his mouth.

Liam laughed as he looked down at his clasped hands.

"Well, what do you think, Liam?" Scott asked.

Liam looked over at Louis before answering. "I think Louis and I are very competitive. We took this race very seriously, and when he really puts his mind to it, Louis's an unstoppable force."

"And Liam just never quits," Louis added as he turned back to Scott. "Even if he doesn't know what side of the world he's on, he'll try his damned best to do whatever it is we have to do. Inspiring. Sickening. I'm hopeless."

The rest of the guys laughed at this as Liam shot Louis a fond gaze.

Scott continued, "This season was an experiment to see how strangers would work together as travelling companions. On this show, we usually see partners with strong relationships or long-time acquaintance. Obviously, it's easier and more comfortable to travel and complete challenges when you know your partner well. We wanted to see how teams would work without any of those advantages. A lot of your challenges depended entirely on teamwork and the last proposal was designed to test your loyalty to your new partner—and it's reality TV, you know, had to raise the stakes a bit to make a dramatic ending."

Louis nodded with a purse of his lips. "It was a bit cruel, though, wasn't it? To pit us against each other like that, without knowing for certain if we could still split the prize. I don't think the notion came quite as obvious to some people."

Liam bashfully lowered his head as he fidgeted with his hands. Louis reached over and laced his fingers in between one of them and gave him a gentle squeeze to make him stop.

"Louis, you thought ahead of the premise and quickly made the strategy of agreeing to the proposal, all the while intending to share your winnings with Liam. At this point, no one on our team knew what your actual intentions were. But of course, we let our viewers know about the happy ending for you both in a text montage at the end of the actual episode. What our viewers don't know is that the happy ending didn't actually happen at the end of the race. It happened a few days later. For the first time, we'll show you what happened after Louis won the final footrace."

A clip was played, showing Liam's exit down the stairwell in Tower Bridge, followed by Louis looking frantic on top of the bridge as he looked around for Liam.

_"Liam? Liam! Where's Liam?!" Louis shouted, breaking away from the throng of supporters and running back under the bridge, the camera clumsily following._

_"Liam!" he shouted once more. Then he ducked his head, until he noticed the cameraman who had come up to get a close-up of his face. "Get that [BLEEP]ing camera out of my face!"_

_"Why did you let him leave?!" he shouted to another crew member._

_"We didn't see him—"_

_Louis slapped a hand over his eyes. "Christ, is he that sore that I beat him? I mean, I know he's a stroppy bastard sometimes, but this is ridiculous! It wasn't even a serious race, like—wait. Shit."_

"Can you tell us what happened there, Liam? On the bridge?" Scott asked once the clip stopped.

"Well, I think it's quite clear what happened—I let Louis win the footrace," Liam replied with a matter-of-fact tone.

" _Let me win_? I beat you, fair and square!" Louis indignantly squeaked.

"No, I held back," Liam solemnly replied. "It didn't feel right to win without you crossing the finish line beside me, because clearly you had no chance."

"Bullshit," Louis muttered.

Liam raised his hands as he broke into a breathless laugh.

"Well, we have one way of setting it straight," Scott interjected with a grin. "It just so happens that we set up the same obstacle at Tower Bridge today, so that Liam could have a chance to avenge his loss."

"No way..." Liam widely grinned.

Louis laughed, "You're going to make us race each other again?"

“And I think you'll love this change as well,” Scott told them with a coy smile. “No cameras.”

\----

There Liam and Louis were again, at the foot of the stairs in the North Tower of Tower Bridge, warming up to race.

"Ready to be spanked again?" Louis teased as he lightly smacked Liam's ribs.

Liam laughed. "I think you're the one who's going to get spanked today."

"Oh..." Louis teased as he crouched down and stretched his legs.

"Gentlemen," Scott announced. "On your marks... Get set... Go!"

This time as Liam and Louis raced side by side, their faces were set wide in smiles and they laughed as they ran up the stairwell together. They kept the same pace most of the way, until they neared the top.

Liam, really wanting to win this time, used all the burning strength in his thighs and took huge strides until he caught the ribbon with his stomach at the opening to the walkway corridor. He raised his hands in the air just as Louis caught up to him and grabbed onto his shoulders.

"I won the race! I beat you, Tommo!" Liam cheered with a pointed index finger at him.

Louis clapped him on the back and grinned up. "Indeed you did, Payno!"

Liam looked out across the river and its surrounding cityscape through the open windows on the walkway. Under the cloudy sky, everything looked grey, but the low sun managed to sneak some rays against the water and glass buildings, making London look like a shimmering silver wonderland.

Liam looked over at Louis, whose blue eyes caught the cloud-silver sheen. "You're taking the loss pretty well. Good sport, you are."

Louis scoffed as he stared over at Liam. "Well, I may have lost the race, but at least the view is breathtaking."

Liam couldn't stop his cheeks from squishing against his eyes as he smiled at this.

Louis loves him. And he loves Louis.

"It's a lot cooler up here now than it was in July," Louis remarked as he ran his hands up and down his arms. The wind whipped through the corridor at his open jean jacket and swayed the wave of hair that fell over his forehead.

"Come here," Liam said as he wrapped his arm around Louis's neck and pulled him close into his leather coat. He brought his other arm around Louis's waist as Louis nuzzled his head into the crook of Liam's collarbone. Liam rested his scruffy chin into the soft nest that was Louis's long fringe now.

"Always warm," Louis murmured into Liam's skin.

"Whoo!" They could faintly hear Zayn, Niall, Harry, and the rest of the camera crew cheering from the boat floating on the grey water, just below the bridge. They looked minuscule from way up here, as did the rest of London and the snaking Thames.

"Happy now? You won, fair and square," Louis asked as he picked up his head and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

Liam softly chuckled. "I'm just happy that we're both at the finish line this time."

“Yes, but you didn't win any prize this time,” Louis told him with a persistent stare.

“What are you talking about?" Liam giggled. "I've got the best prize! I'm holding it in my arms."

Louis rolled his eyes as he scrunched his mouth into a reluctant grin.

Liam ducked his head and Louis cradled his jaw as he leant on the tips of his toes to meet Liam's mouth with his. Liam gently kissed back as he held him close. Meanwhile, he reached one arm down to his jacket pocket and took out his phone to snap a photo of the two of them with the River Thames and the rest of Central London behind them.

"Did you just take a selfie during our disgustingly corny, romantic moment?" Louis harped as he broke from Liam's lips.

Liam tipped his head to the side as he shrugged. "I promised Niall I'd take photos of the best places on this race. Well, I never did get a snapshot for London."

"How about a redo? My face looks a bit strange with the angle," Louis suggested.

"Sure," Liam said before he threw his arm around Louis's shoulder and leaned in for another kiss.

"How's it look now?" he asked as he pulled away and showed Louis the new photo.

"Oh, awful! Here, let me take it. You are rubbish at this," Louis laughed as he snatched the phone from Liam.

"Well I thought that one was ni—"

Louis shut Liam up with his lips as he grasped the back of his head and dug his fingers into his hair. He slid the phone into his back pocket, which Liam had all but forgotten about with his lips pressed against Louis's and his arms wrapped around Louis's waist. Louis hooked his hand around Liam's bicep as he moved deeper into the kiss, parting his lips, then sucking on Liam's lower lip with a bit of a nibble. Liam laughed into Louis's mouth and nuzzled their foreheads together.

"Let's go back down together this time, mm?" Louis grinned as he tugged at Liam's jacket.

"Of course. Partner." Liam warmly smiled and held Louis close to him as they walked down the stairs—together this time.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first 1D fic, and halfway through writing it I realized I was setting the bar very high for myself with over 50K words and researching 10 countries and all the Briticisms--I clearly am a masochist and/or I have lost my mind, haha.
> 
> That being said, I hope I did a good job portraying each city and if anything was culturally inaccurate, let me know :) I've only been to three of the cities in this story, (and I didn't even include the one foreign city I actually lived in and whose language I spoke semi-fluently) Of course, I hope I also portrayed every character well, especially with respect to Lilo, as this was my first time writing 1D!
> 
> *"Yoshi" is the westernized spelling of the Japanese word/exclamation, though it is pronounced without the "i" so that's why every time Louis or Liam says it, I don't include an "i" for the sake of phonetic spelling/reading.


End file.
